Patients urged to use NHS app instead of GP under new guidance
The reforms are to be formally announced by the Health Secretary
Last updated 29th May 2022
Patients in England are to be encouraged to use the NHS App before making an appointment with their GP, under new guidance being announced by the Health Secretary.
Speaking at the Royal College of Physicians on Tuesday (March 8th), Sajid Javid said that the health service will need to adapt to different challenges, including treating people with long-term complex conditions.
Under the new guidance, patients will be urged to use the NHS App to handle their health, only booking GP appointments through the app if the app does not provide a suitable answer.
As well as this, there are hopes that people will be able to communicate with their local surgery and see test results through their phone, reducing the patient capacity of the NHS.
The government has already placed a target for 75% of adults in England to be using the App to manage their healthcare by March in 2024.
The Health Secretary will also announce that people on long waiting lists for treatment can opt for private healthcare, whilst being paid for by the NHS.
Over 4 million people will be able to avail of the scheme, which will be expanded so that patients waiting over 18 months for treatment can 'personalise' their care - including budgets spent on their care.
Speaking about the reforms to the NHS, Mr Javid said that the health service must evolve in order to cope with everchanging challenges.
"It's clear we were always going to come to a crossroads: a point where we must choose between endlessly putting in more and more money, or reforming how we do healthcare," he said.
"Pressures in social care were rising substantially too. But without the pandemic, the Covid backlogs, an even more stretched workforce and other new pressures, that choice might have been many years down the line.
"The shock of Covid and the urgent need for recovery has brought us to this crossroads right now. I choose reform."