PATIENTS will be able to access a range of healthcare services and advice at the touch of a button, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has set out today as the Government’s Plan for Change drives forward fundamental reform to the NHS to make it easier and fairer for everyone to access the care they need.

Launching the 10 Year Health Plan today – the government’s roadmap to rebuilding the health service to make it fit for the future - the PM set out how the App will act as a digital front door to the health service, overhauling how people get advice, manage appointments and interact with services to make their healthcare more convenient and more personalised.

For the 1st time, patients will be able to book, move and cancel all their appointments on the App – ending the 8am scramble for a GP – and the App will use artificial intelligence to provide instant advice for patients who need non-urgent care, available 24/7.

Through the plan, which has been published in Parliament today, patients will have quicker, better access to the right care. They will be able to self-refer on the App to mental health talking therapies, musculoskeletal services, podiatry, and audiology – freeing up GPs and new Neighbourhood Health Services to focus on providing direct care while dramatically slashing waiting lists for these services – delivering on the government’s Plan for Change promise to cut waiting lists.

Accessing healthcare will be quicker than ever thanks to expanded features on the app. People will be able to manage their medicines and book vaccines from their phone, connect with a clinician for a remote consultation, and even leave a question for a specialist to answer without making an appointment. Patients simply being able to book an appointment digitally rather than today’s convoluted process will save the NHS £200 million over 3 years.

For parents, the new App will deliver a 21st century alternative to the 'red book', ensuring that their children’s medical records are available to them in their pocket, so they do not have to carry their red books to every appointment. It will also provide advice and support throughout childhood, offering guidance on weaning and healthy habits. Over time, it will record feeding times, monitor sleep, and use AI analytics to understand the best way to care for children when they are unwell.

The changes will build on the progress Government has already made to increase the number of hospitals allowing patients to view appointment information on the app. Almost 12 million fewer paper letters have been sent by hospitals since July 2024. Forecasts for this year show the use of in-app notifications for planned care will prevent the need for 15.7 million SMS messages.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:- “For far too long, the NHS has been stuck in the past, reliant on letters, lengthy phone queues and even fax machines. But that doesn’t match the reality of our daily lives, where everything from shopping and banking to entertainment and travel can be sorted with the touch of a button from our phones. To rebuild our NHS, we have to make sure it reflects the society it serves. That’s why our 10 Year Health Plan will bring it into the digital age by opening up fairer and more convenient access to healthcare. Through our new App – a digital front door for your care – parents will be able to keep track of their children’s health through an online ‘red book’ fit for the 21st century, and we will put a stop to patients having to endlessly repeat their medical history thanks to a single patient record. Our Plan for Change promised to make our NHS fit for the future and that’s what we are getting on with delivering – fixing the foundations of our health service and making sure it will be there to look after us for decades to come.”

This is 1 major arm of the technological innovation at the heart of the 10 Year Health Plan launched today, which also includes introducing the single patient record, rolling out AI scribes to take notes for clinicians, using Generative AI to create the first draft of care plans, and introducing single sign-on for NHS software.

The government’s 10 Year Health Plan sets out the fundamental reforms we will deliver to address the challenges facing the health service in the face of inherited underinvestment and neglect and the evolving needs of a modern society.

Speaking at the launch of the plan today, the PM set out how the plan will deliver three key shifts to make the NHS fit for the future:- hospital to community; analogue to digital; and sickness to prevention. Through fundamental reforms to rewire the NHS around these shifts, the plan will deliver the government’s pledge to cut waiting lists, improve healthcare for everyone wherever they live, and ensure the NHS is equipped to look after us for decades to come.

This historic transformation will fundamentally change the future of healthcare, and it will be underpinned by a new Single Patient Record. This will finally bring together all of a patient's medical records into one place, so patients do not have to repeat their medical history to each clinician they see. The Single Patient Record will make sure patients get seamless care no matter who they are being treated by in the NHS.

2/3 of outpatient appointments - which currently cost in total £14 billion a year - will be replaced by automated information, digital advice, direct input from specialists and patient-initiated follow ups via the NHS App.

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said:- “The NHS App will become a doctor in your pocket, bringing our health service into the 21st century. Patients who can afford to pay for private healthcare can get instant advice, remote consultations with a doctor, and choose where and when their appointments will be. Our reforms will bring those services to every patient, regardless of their ability to pay. The 10 Year Health Plan will give keep every patient fully informed of their healthcare and make using the NHS as easy and convenient as doing your banking or shopping online. It will deliver a fundamental shift in the way people access their care - from analogue to digital. A new Single Patient Record will bring an end to the frustration of repeating your medical history to different doctors. Instead, health and care professionals will have your record in one, handy place, so they can give you the best possible care. Through our Plan for Change, this Government is shifting care to digital and delivering an NHS which is truly fit for the future.”

The Government will make the Single Patient Record possible through new legislation that places a duty on every health and care provider to make the information they record about a patient, available in the Single Patient Record. 

We will also legislate to give patients access to their record by default. From 2028, patients will be able to view it, securely, on the NHS App. Over time, that data will include not only medical records, but a personalised account of health risk, drawing from lifestyle, demographic and genomic data – helping catch problems early before they develop, and prevent people from poor health.

The Single Patient Record is designed as National Critical Infrastructure. This means it will be built and maintained to meet the highest levels of security, equivalent to those used for the UK’s most vital systems, such as energy and transport networks. Health and care professionals treating and caring for a patient will have secure access to their record; patients can control who else they share it with and will have a robust audit trail of who has accessed their record.

Sir Jim Mackey, Chief Executive at NHS England, said:- “The NHS App will be at the heart of the tech transformation we’re planning for the NHS to give people much more ownership of their healthcare – all from wherever they are at the tap of a screen. Millions of us already have the app downloaded on our phones and the improvements we’re introducing as part of the 10 Year Health Plan, from booking appointments and speaking to clinicians online to seeing all your medical records in 1 place, will make the NHS App the digital front door to the NHS.”

A My Health tool will include real-time data from wearables, biometric sensors, or smart devices and will connect to relevant NHS data too - whether that is the results of recent tests at home or in a neighbourhood health centre. Wearables will be able to feed vital data into the App such as step count, heart rate and sleep quality, to provide tailored, personal health advice. The single patient record will have robust security controls.

And a new My NHS GP tool will harness AI to direct people to the most appropriate and timely care they need. In some cases, it will advise on self-care - and help direct patients to well-evidenced consumer healthcare products. In others, it might direct to a community pharmacy, a neighbourhood health centre or to emergency care.

Over the course of the plan, the features set to be developed through the NHS App will include the ability to:-

• My NHS GP – book a remote or face-to-face appointment, and receive personalised health advice using new AI tool
• My Specialist – self-refer when clinically appropriate and leave a question for a specialist to answer
• My Consult – connect with a clinician for a remote consultation
• My Medicines – manage repeat prescriptions for delivery/collection and receive reminders
• My Care – book and manage appointments, enrol in a clinical trial and access Single Patient Record
• My Companion – get information about a health condition or procedure, and ask AI or a clinician a question
• My Choices – find nearest pharmacy, the best providers, and leave feedback on services
• My Vaccines – see when vaccines are up-to-date and book appointments to get them organised, and find travel vaccine info
• My Health – bring data like blood pressure, heart rate, glucose levels together, and include real-time date from wearables or smart devices
• My Children – a digitised red book, where parents can get advice and support for parents throughout childhood
• My Carer – securely prove you are a carer, book appointments and talk to your loved one’s care team

   
Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK said:- "It's clear that technology is set to transform many aspects of our lives for the better over the next decade, including the delivery of healthcare and how we interact with the NHS. The potential of the NHS App for example, is truly exciting, but we must also ensure that no 1 is left behind, including the many millions of older people who are not online and who often want and need to use more traditional means of communication, such as telephone and face to face. The Government's commitment to a digitally inclusive approach is really important in building public trust. It is also essential for the NHS's promise of being equally accessible to continue to hold true in our increasingly digital world. The voluntary sector can certainly help by supporting people who are not digital natives and at Age UK we look forward to playing our part in this way." 

Julian David, CEO, techUK said:- “We welcome today’s announcement as a landmark moment in the digital transformation of the NHS. The enhanced NHS App marks a bold step forward in putting citizens at the centre of their care, empowering patients with the same ease, accessibility, and control we expect from modern digital services. Ongoing and meaningful engagement with the tech sector will be essential to delivering this transformation at scale. techUK will continue to work with government, NHS bodies, and our members to ensure this transformation is inclusive, secure, and future-ready.”  

Boosting the App will not only benefit those managing their healthcare digitally but will also free up capacity in traditional healthcare routes and provide more access to care and appointments – freeing up phone lines so calls are answered on time and freeing up GPs’ capacity to offer face-to-face appointments.

The government will aim to empower and upskill everyone to feel confident using the NHS App so that they can benefit from the additional access to services and the greater convenience the App will bring.

The government will continue a partnership with libraries and other community organisations to set people up on the App, with show-and-tells to teach them how to use it and reap the benefits – this will be alongside ongoing work across government to improve access to technology and boost confidence among groups that have previously struggled.