Streeting: NHS App upgrade to give patients more choice in bid to cut wait times
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More NHS patients who need elective care will be able to decide where they are treated under new Government plans to slash waiting lists. The NHS App will be overhauled to give patients more choice under the elective reform plan, which is set to be announced this week.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the move will shift the NHS “into the digital age” and help cut waiting times “from 18 months to 18 weeks”. Action will also be taken to tackle missed appointments, which can be costly for the health service.
Experts welcomed the move, but warned that digital innovations must not “create new barriers” and “come at the expense of excluding those without a smartphone”. At the moment, the NHS App can be used for the likes of booking and managing appointments, viewing health records and ordering repeat prescriptions.
The upgraded platform will allow patients who need non-emergency elective treatment to choose from a range of providers, including those in the independent sector. Users will also be able to view and manage appointments, book tests and checks at convenient locations such as community diagnostic centres, receive test results, and book any necessary follow up appointments, such as a remote consultations or surgery.
According to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), fewer than a quarter of patients are offered a choice of hospital to have treatment. Mr Streeting said: “If the wealthy can choose where and when they are treated, then working class patients should be able to as well, and this Government will give them that choice.
