NHS app to become main communication tool for millions in £200m cost-saving plan

People who cannot access messages through the app—such as some elderly patients—will receive text messages, followed by letters as a last resort. The department said the change would also help to free up NHS phone lines.

The app is expected to send 270 million messages this financial year—an increase of 70 million compared with the previous year. Push notifications will provide appointment reminders in an effort to reduce the risk of non-attendance. In 2023/24, around eight million elective care appointments were missed.

Work is also under way to allow users to add appointments to their phone calendars and request help from their local GP surgery via the app.

More than 11 million people in the UK log into the NHS app each month, and almost 20 million are opted in to receive healthcare messages. The app, launched in December 2018, is now used in 87 per cent of hospitals in England.

It is hoped the changes will give patients better access to manage their healthcare journey and make informed decisions about their care.

Health secretary Wes Streeting said the investment would help bring the NHS into the digital age, making the experience of being a patient as convenient as “online banking or ordering a takeaway.” He added that moving away from paper could free up funding for front line services.

Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients Association, described the upgrade as a “significant step in modernising how patients receive information.”

However, Prof Phil Banfield, chair of the British Medical Association (BMA) council, warned that a digital-first approach “must not discriminate against or alienate those many patients who cannot use or do not have access to digital technology such as tablets and smartphones.”

He added: “We must guard against creating a situation in which patients who are vulnerable, elderly and possibly without access to digital communication are forgotten and left behind – as they already are in society.”

The announcement follows measures unveiled by the government in January to allow more patients in England to book treatments and appointments through the app.

Last month, NHS England announced that millions of patients would be able to receive “Amazon-style” tracking updates through the app, allowing them to check whether their prescriptions are ready for collection or have been despatched for delivery.