NHS to launch national online hospital: what does this mean for you
- Healthwatch Wokingham
- 21 hours ago
- 2 min read
The NHS is launching a new online hospital service, called NHS Online, designed to make it quicker and easier for people to access specialist care without always needing to visit a hospital in person.
It will begin seeing its first patients next year, aiming to modernise healthcare by using digital technology, while still keeping face-to-face appointments available for those who need or prefer them.
What will NHS Online do?
Patients will be able to:
Be referred by their GP to NHS Online
Use the NHS App to be assessed and triaged
Have video appointments with specialist doctors across the UK
Be monitored from home
Get faster access to care, no matter where they live in England
Tests, scans and procedures will still take place at local hospitals or clinics, but specialists will be able to review results remotely. This is expected to speed up care and reduce waiting lists.
Which conditions will be treated first?
The NHS has announced nine common conditions that will be prioritised when the service launches in 2027, including:
Women’s health issues, such as severe menopause symptoms and menstrual problems linked to conditions like endometriosis or fibroids
Prostate conditions, including prostate enlargement and raised PSA levels
Eye conditions, such as cataracts, glaucoma and macular degeneration
Other long-term or painful conditions, including iron deficiency anaemia and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
All these conditions often have long waiting times, and NHS Online aims to help people get diagnosed and treated sooner.
Will this replace traditional care?
No. In-person appointments will always remain an option. NHS Online is designed to give patients more choice and flexibility, not to remove existing services.
The NHS believes that as more people choose online appointments, waiting lists will fall and in-person care will be freed up for those who need it most.
Why is this important?
NHS Online is part of a wider plan to:
Reduce long waits for specialist care
Tackle inequalities in access to healthcare
Fit healthcare around people’s lives, rather than the other way around
The service is expected to deliver up to 8.5 million virtual appointments in its first three years.
Digital services are already being used in places like Moorfields Eye Hospital and University Hospital Southampton and have shown significant reductions in waiting times. NHS Online aims to build on these successes across England.
Read the full press release here:
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