Tag: 2025

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 28 April 2025.

• Reform of NHS App stops 1.5 million hospital appointments being missed, saving 5.7 million staff hours since July 2024
• Push to get patients seen quicker is part of government’s Plan for Change to end hospital backlogs and shift NHS services from analogue to digital
• 87% of hospitals now offering services through NHS App – up nearly 20% since July 2024 and exceeding government target

Millions of patients are benefiting from greater choice and flexibility in the way they access healthcare as the Prime Minister welcomes a major milestone in the rollout of the NHS App today (28 April 2025).

Latest data shows 1.5 million appointments have been saved thanks to the government’s accelerated rollout of the NHS App, which helps patients access treatment more conveniently so that it fits around their lives, rather than the other way round.

Making sure patients get greater power over how and when they can book their treatments and appointments is at the heart of the government’s plans to end hospital backlogs and improve care through the Plan for Change.

Users can manage appointments, view prescriptions, access their GP health record and receive notifications at the touch of a button, reducing stress on healthcare services and providing easier access to information and services.

The government has exceeded its first target under the plan, to increase the number of hospitals allowing patients to view appointment information on the app up to 85% by the end of March 2025 – reaching 87%, up from 68% in July 2024.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:

Our NHS has been stuck in the dark ages – held back by old fashioned systems where patients are struggling for appointments and unable to access their own data.

We saw during the pandemic how apps can totally transform everyday access to health services. So there’s no excuse for the lack of progress in the NHS we’ve inherited.

NHS reform has to come through better use of tech – it’s the fuel we need to power change.

As we deliver our Plan for Change to end hospital backlogs, I want to see more and more people having the option to use the app, so that everyone benefits from more control and choice over their treatment.

Measures to expand the use of the app were set out earlier this year in the government’s elective reform plan, which set out how patients will be offered a wider choice of providers and an easier, quicker way to book appointments.

The move comes as the government steps up the use of health data to accelerate the discovery of life-saving drugs and improve patient care. Earlier this month, the Prime Minister announced an investment alongside the Wellcome Trust of up to £600 million to create a new health data research service. This will transform access to NHS data by providing a secure single access point to national-scale data sets, slashing red tape for researchers and boosting the UK’s world-leading life sciences sector.

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said:

This government is determined to get our NHS fixed and fit for the future – and this is just one of the innovative ways through the Plan for Change that we’re helping patients, cutting waiting lists and saving taxpayers’ money all at the same time.

By putting the latest technology into the hands of patients so they can access services quicker, we’re freeing up more time for doctors and nurses to focus on treating people and getting waiting lists down.

This government is doing things differently. Every missed appointment and wasted staff hour saved means another patient getting the care they need as we drive a digital NHS revolution through our Plan for Change.

Since July 2024, the increased use of existing app features has saved almost 5.7 million hours of staff time, including 1.26 million clinical hours across care settings – together with the 1.5 million missed appointments avoided, the NHS App has helped save the equivalent of £622 million.

The app has spared staff from tasks such as managing appointments, completing questionnaires, ordering repeat prescriptions and taking patient details, freeing up frontline staff to focus directly on patient care and treatment.

And new analysis shows patients are getting faster treatment, with trusts that offer services through the app and patient online systems cutting waiting times for more elective care patients than those who do not.

Trusts who use the app’s key features saw a 3 percentage point increase in the number waiting less than 18 weeks in November 2024. This would equate to up to 211,000 more treatments meeting the 18-week target over the same time period if expanded to all hospitals across the country.

With more patients able to access correspondence digitally through the app, almost 12 million fewer paper letters have been sent by hospitals since July 2024 – saving £5.2 million in postage costs. Forecasts for this year show the use of in-app notifications for planned care will prevent the need for 15.7 million SMS messages – saving the NHS a further £985,000.

To assist elderly and more vulnerable patients, the NHS is now offering the public support in how to access online health services including the NHS App at 1,400 libraries across England.

Dr Vin Diwakar, NHS National Clinical Transformation Director, said:

The NHS App is leading the way in switching from analogue to digital services, empowering over 37 million users with faster access to information and slashing waiting times.

With services now live in 87% of hospitals it is also boosting NHS productivity, cutting the number of missed appointments and freeing up almost 5.7 million staff hours since July alone.

Saffron Cordery, interim Chief Executive of NHS Providers, said:

Any innovations that give patients more control over their care, reduce the risk of missed appointments and free up valuable staff time so that they can focus on patients are a step in the right direction.

While it’s really positive that even more hospitals are now offering services through the NHS App, trust leaders know that not everyone has access to or feels comfortable using technology. That’s why it’s welcome that alongside paper letters and phone calls, the NHS is offering more support to help elderly and more vulnerable patients access online health services including via the NHS App.

Rory Deighton, Acute Director at the NHS Confederation, said:

Investing in digital technology and infrastructure in the NHS is vitally important to the government’s ambition of moving from an analogue system to a fully digitised one. This will be crucial in the ongoing improvements to NHS productivity, as well as meeting patient demand and providing safe and quality care.

The NHS App offers the potential to increase patient access, integration, and efficiency across the health service. It can help to reduce duplication and save the time of staff on admin tasks and things like repeat prescriptions.

This is why it is so important that funding in the App as well as the wider digital transformation agenda continues long term.

Planned NHS App upgrades are set to include the ability for patients to choose from a wide range of providers through the app, book tests at convenient locations, such as their local community diagnostic centre and receive test results quickly through the app, before choosing the next step.

The app drive is part of the government’s wider ambitions to shift NHS services from analogue to digital and cut waiting lists under its Plan for Change. With a total of 3 million additional appointments already delivered 6 months early, the government is exceeding its own targets and driving down waiting lists at pace, which have fallen for 6 months in a row and by 219,000 since July 2024.

The milestone follows the government’s announcement that 4.5 million tests, checks and scans were carried out in community diagnostic centres (CDCs) between July 2024 and February 2025, a 50% increase on the previous year. Alongside this, NHS waiting lists in the areas with the highest economic inactivity have been slashed by almost 50,000 between October 2024 and February 2025 – a number larger than Stamford Bridge stadium.

Dr John Dean, Clinical Vice President of the Royal College of Physicians, said:

We welcome the continued rollout and improvements to the NHS App with the aim of putting patients in control of their own health. A focus on incrementally building functionality in the NHS App to support patients to manage their own healthcare will lead to better, more connected digital systems that work better for staff and patients, freeing up time and increasing productivity.

We are keen to work closely with NHS England and the government to ensure that the NHS App is rolled out and improved in ways that most benefit patients and clinicians. It is also vital that we ensure sufficient mitigations are put in place so that those without access to the app are not excluded from accessing the same quality of patient care.

Rachel Power, Chief Executive of the Patients Association, said:

It’s very encouraging to see how digital tools like the NHS App are giving patients greater power over their healthcare, from managing appointments to accessing important health information. The NHS figures showing 1.5 million prevented missed appointments and 1.7 million staff hours saved demonstrate just how transformative this innovation can be.

While this digital progress is vital and the 20% increase in hospital participation is welcome, we must also ensure no one is left behind. Digital access remains a barrier for many, so we welcome the initiative providing support for online health services at 1,400 libraries across England. This kind of practical support needs to remain a key priority as services continue to modernise.

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 27 April 2025.

Thousands of patients are seeing tangible benefits from the government’s Plan for Change, with the latest health data showing significant improvements in access to care.

Tens of thousands of patients up and down the country are already getting their appointments more quickly thanks to the government’s Plan for Change to reform the NHS and drive forward national renewal.

By slashing waiting lists and delivering improvements across the NHS in record time—including delivering three million additional appointments six months early—the government is exceeding its own targets and driving down waiting lists at a rapid pace. This has resulted in a six-month decline and a 219,000 reduction since July.

Around 4.5 million tests, checks and scans were carried out in Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs)—many of which are conveniently located on local high streets—between July and February, a 50% increase on the previous year.

This equates to 18,000 more checks being delivered every day for patients to diagnose some of the biggest killers, including cancer and heart disease.

As well as opening more CDCs to bring care closer to people’s homes, the government is going further and faster by significantly expanding the number of CDCs open 12 hours a day, seven days a week—making it easier for people to get their tests and appointments done at a time that suits them.

Backed by almost £26 billion investment at the Budget, the Plan for Change is driving forward reform of the NHS to put an end to the misery for many people who have had to put their lives on hold while stuck on waiting lists, delivering the change people voted for.

Alongside action to rebuild the NHS, the Plan for Change is also focused on growing the economy to improve living standards across the country.

The government is already putting more pounds in people’s pockets by freezing fuel duty, boosting the minimum wage by up to £1,400 a year, and protecting working people with no rise in their national insurance, income tax, or VAT. Living standards are growing at their fastest rate in two years, and the Spring Statement showed people will be, on average, over £500 a year better off.

Earlier this month, we outlined plans for a Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, which aims to put 13,000 more officers into neighbourhood policing roles by 2029—an increase of more than 50%. This will help restore people’s trust in local policing.

To ensure that working people can benefit from clean, secure, homegrown energy, we have set up Great British Energy in Aberdeen to catalyse private investment and announced its first major project: installing solar panels on 200 schools and 200 NHS sites, which will cut energy bills.

Through the Plan for Change, we are working to give every child the best start in life and break down barriers to opportunity. This week, thousands of children started attending the first 750 free breakfast clubs, providing them with a healthy start to the day, giving parents 30 minutes of free childcare, and helping them save up to £450 a year.

Restoring economic stability and driving growth is fundamental to the Plan for Change. The OBR has confirmed that the economy will grow every year from 2026 and that our planning reforms will lead to a 0.2% increase in GDP, worth £6.8 billion.

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden said:

Through our Plan for Change, we are getting on with the job of rebuilding our country and improving the public services we all rely on.

It’s already making a difference in people’s lives as we put police back on the beat, get more teachers in classrooms, and this week launched free breakfast clubs in hundreds of schools.

The latest data shows our approach is delivering real change, with tens of thousands more patients getting the right care and waiting lists falling faster in areas where there are higher numbers of people out of work. And this is just the start.

The government is also working at pace to slash NHS waiting lists in areas with the highest economic inactivity. The scheme, known as the Further Faster 20 programme, is part of plans to reduce the number of people unable to work due to long-term sickness, which is at its highest level since the 1990s.

The programme sees teams made up of clinical leads from across trusts, as well as national specialists, driving innovative practices. It has resulted in a total of almost 50,000 cases being removed from waiting lists in these areas since October. 35% of the national reduction in the overall waiting list has come from the 20 hospitals involved in the scheme, which has fallen faster than the national average.

Minister for Elective Care Karin Smyth said:

This government made a promise to the British public to reverse more than a decade of soaring waiting times and poor access to patient care—and through our Plan for Change, we are starting to turn the tide across every part of the country—with our crack teams already having a transformative impact.

This is a long road, but with tens of thousands more patients getting care that works for them and waiting lists falling faster in areas of high joblessness, we are getting the NHS back on its feet so it delivers for patients once again.

This is only the start. From bringing patient care closer to home, to ending the 8 am scramble for a GP appointment, this government is determined to transform our NHS to make it fit for the future.

One example of the Future Faster 20 programme is the Trafford Elective Hub, where the team have been running super-charged theatre lists that see almost twice the number of patients seen as standard theatre lists.

The hub also runs super clinics at weekends, providing one-stop shops to treat 100 patients at a time. The hub also has employment advisers on hand to help patients get back to work faster.

Miss Toli Onon, Joint Chief Medical Officer at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust said:

The Trafford Elective Hub exemplifies innovative approaches to reducing waiting lists, such as High Performance theatre lists which are designed to optimise surgical productivity by refining the surgical pathway and minimising inefficiencies.

By enhancing the productivity and efficiency of our elective services, we are demonstrating a sustainable and effective model for the future that benefits more patients.

Other initiatives include Super Clinics. These Super Clinics, which can serve up to 100 patients over weekends, streamline care by providing multiple services in one visit and include employment advisers to help patients return to work faster.

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 27 April 2025.

• Government drives forward use of innovative artificial intelligence in hospitals to improve patient care
• New government guidance set out today will encourage its use across health service while protecting patient data and privacy
• Trials show dramatic reduction in admin and more time for direct patient care, as Plan for Change delivers seismic shift in care to digital

NHS clinicians will be supported to use groundbreaking artificial intelligence tools that bulldoze bureaucracy and take notes to free up staff time and deliver better care to patients thanks to guidance published today.

Interim trial data shows that the revolutionary tech has dramatically reduced admin, and meant more people could be seen in A&E, clinicians could spend more time during an appointment focusing on the patient, and appointments were shorter.

Through its Plan for Change the government is getting the NHS back on its feet and slashing waiting lists. Guidance published today will encourage the use of these products – which use speech technologies and generative AI to convert spoken words into structured medical notes and letters – across a range of primary and secondary care settings, including hospitals and GP surgeries.

The government’s mission-led approach is driving forward the use of innovative tech and new approaches to reform the health system and improve care for patients – offering them quicker and smarter care.

One of the tools – ambient voice technologies (AVTs) – can transcribe patient-clinician conversations, create structured medical notes, and even draft patient letters.

Patient safety and privacy will be paramount. This is why the guidance will focus on data compliance and security, risk identification and assessment, while ensuring that staff are properly trained before using the technology.

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said:

“AI is the catalyst that will revolutionise healthcare and drive efficiencies across the NHS, as we deliver our Plan for Change and shift care from analogue to digital.

“I am determined we embrace this kind of technology, so clinicians don’t have to spend so much time pushing pens and can focus on their patients.

“This government made the difficult but necessary decision at the Budget to put a record £26 billion into our NHS and social care including cash to roll out more pioneering tech.”

The NHS England funded, London-wide AVT work, led by Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, has evaluated AVT capabilities across a range of clinical settings – Adult Outpatients, Primary Care, Paediatrics, Mental Health, Community care, A+E and across London Ambulance Service.

This multi-site evaluation involving over 7000 patients has demonstrated widespread benefits. Interim data shows:

• Increase in direct care – clinicians spending more time spent with patients rather than typing on a computer
• Increase in productivity in A&E – the technology has supported more patients to be seen in emergency departments by carrying out admin for A&E staff

Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said:

“This technology has the power to free up doctors to do the thing they all want to – spend more time treating their patients. That is good for them, good for anyone receiving healthcare, and a shot in the arm for our efforts to overhaul the NHS as part of the Plan for Change.

“It’s a prime example of why we are embracing the benefits of AI, to make our public services fit for the 21st century and fire up our economy.”

At GOSH, AVTs have listened to consultations and drafted clinic notes and letters. These were then edited and authorised by the clinician before being uploaded to the secure electronic health record system and sent on to patients and their families. Clinicians agreed the AI helped them offer more attention to their patients without affecting the quality of the clinic note or letter.

Dr Maaike Kusters, Paediatric Immunology Consultant at GOSH, says:

“The patients I see in my clinics have very complex medical conditions and it’s so important to make sure I capture what we discuss in our appointments accurately, but often this means I am typing rather than looking directly at my patient and their family.

“Using the AI tool during the trial meant I could sit closer to them face-to-face and really focus on what they were sharing with me, without compromising on the quality of documentation.”

As it stands, clinicians in hospitals and GP surgeries are forced to spend much of their consultations recording information into a computer instead of focusing on the patient in front of them.

Once the patient has left, they are often required to take that information and summarise it in documents like referral letters. The government is determined to reform these outdated ways of working and revolutionise care, and this innovative tech will do that work for them, so they can see their next patient.

The Jean Bishop Integrated Care Centre in East Hull (part of City Health Care Partnership) has introduced an ambient scribing product to make their documentation process faster and better support their work to care for people living with frailty.

By converting a conversation with a patient into a clinical note, the ambient scribing product is freeing up time for a range of staff including GPs, consultants, nurses, and physiotherapists.

Thanks to government action, GP surgeries delivered 31.4 million appointments last month– a 6.1% increase on the previous year – and waiting lists have fallen by 219,000 patients. This technology will help consolidate this progress.

The government is already using AI to speed up diagnosis and treatment for a range of health issues – spotting pain levels for people who can’t speak, diagnosing breast cancer quicker, and getting people discharged quicker.

Notes to editors

Dr Andrew Noble, a doctor working at a care centre in Hull, says:

“By embracing this innovative technology, we’ve optimised our resources and empowered our clinicians and entire multidisciplinary team.

“The positive feedback from both staff and patients shows just how valuable this project has been.

“We’re excited to keep exploring what AI can do for us and to continue enhancing patient care and clinical efficiency.”

Dr Vin Diwakar, National Director of Transformation at NHS England, said:
“This exciting technology can reduce the burden of administration, allowing patients more quality time with their clinician, and our new guidance shows the NHS’s ability to rapidly and safely harness the very latest innovations to transform healthcare and bring benefits for our hardworking staff and our patients.”