New NHS online hospital to focus on nine health conditions

The new NHS online hospital service, launching in England next year, will initially focus on menopause, prostate and eye conditions.

The NHS has selected nine different conditions in total for the service to be available via the NHS app in 2027.

Service, announced for the first time in septemberIt will allow patients to book evaluations, check-ups and follow-up appointments online and will have its own dedicated team of doctors.

The goal is to fulfill 8.5 million appointments in the first three years; that’s four times the size of the average NHS trust.

But experts have questioned how it will be staffed and paid.

The nine conditions to be prioritized initially are:

• glaucoma
• conditions that affect the retina at the back of the eye (including age-related macular degeneration)
• cataract
• inflammatory bowel disease
• iron deficiency anemia
• prostate enlargement
• High PSA levels that are not suspicious for cancer
• menopause
• Menstrual problems that may be a sign of endometriosis

There is an expectation that more conditions will be added to this list in the future.

NHS England said no patients would be forced to go through face-to-face appointments as they could still choose to do so.

Patients will have the option to use NHS Online when a GP makes a referral for specialist care. Patients will be able to receive care from doctors across the country directly via the NHS App, rather than having to have a physical site.

Any needed tests, scans, or procedures will be performed at healthcare facilities close to patients’ homes, and doctors will review and evaluate their notes remotely.

The government and NHS England believe the service will give patients faster access to care and help ease pressure on in-person appointments, reducing waiting lists in the process.

Professor Stella Vig, head of elective care at NHS England, said: “The NHS’s new online hospital will see a major shift in the way we deliver care, giving patients the option to book an online appointment with a specialist anywhere in England.

Commenting on the nine prioritized conditions, he said: “We know these conditions can be painful and difficult to cope with, so providing faster, more convenient access to diagnoses and treatments will have a real, positive impact on people’s lives.”

Patients can already get their test results from the NHS app and book an appointment online.

But this service builds on this by offering an essentially end-to-end digital service, building on some initiatives that have already been piloted.

For example, University Hospital Southampton has developed a virtual monitoring service for low-risk inflammatory bowel disease, allowing patients to access remote care and support when they experience flare-ups.

This meant the NHS trust could reduce routine follow-up appointments. Three-quarters of patients were managed virtually, and the initiative was credited with reducing wait times by 58%.

Meanwhile, Moorfields Eye Hospital in London has launched a virtual system to manage non-urgent eye referrals. More than half were treated at routine clinics in Moorfields without the need for specialist treatment.

Peter Thomas, consultant at Moorfields Eye Hospital, said: “The impact is clear – patients are seen quicker in more appropriate settings and pressure is reduced on NHS services.”

Dr. from the Nuffield Trust think tank. Becks Fisher said the service would be beneficial for some and that the focus on menopause and menstrual health “makes sense” given long waits for gynecology services.

But he added that “difficult questions remain,” including how the service will be staffed and paid for.

He also said: “NHS IT infrastructure could also be an issue as it would need to ensure that relevant information, such as scan results, is visible across different NHS organisations, which is quite a challenge at the moment.”