"The government has announced a new "digital hospital" service in England that will provide online appointments with consultants as an alternative to visiting a National Health Service (NHS) hospital. However, some have questioned how it will find staff and whether it will exclude patients not able to use digital services. Patients in England needing some types of specialist care will be able to book online appointments with consultants working for NHS Online through the NHS app."
"An analysis of NHS England data by doctors' trade union the British Medical Association (BMA) found that 6.25 million individuals were waiting for such treatment in July, with around 2.78 million waiting more than 18 weeks and 191,600 for more than a year. NHS England said its new service will initially focus on "a small number of planned treatment areas with the longest waits" and will be expanded over time to other areas which are clinically safe to deliver remotely."
The government will introduce NHS Online, a 'digital hospital' providing consultant appointments through the NHS app, with scans, tests and procedures carried out at local community diagnostic centres. The service aims to tackle long waits for non-urgent care by initially focusing on planned treatment areas with the longest backlogs and expanding into other clinically safe remote services. NHS Online aims to deliver up to 8.5 million appointments and assessments in its first three years from 2027. Analysis shows millions currently wait for treatment, and healthcare charities estimate the service could deliver roughly 2% of hospital episode capacity, while concerns remain about staffing and digital exclusion.
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