A new “online hospital” will deliver millions of appointments and help cut waiting lists, Keir Starmer is to announce in his leader’s speech at Labour’s conference.
The prime minister will set out plans for NHS Online, which will connect patients to specialist clinicians. The scheme, which will begin operating in 2027, will deliver up to 8.5m extra NHS appointments in its first three years, the government claimed.
In his speech in Liverpool on Tuesday afternoon, Starmer will say “a new world is coming” and that “in decades to come, I want people to look back on this moment as the moment we renewed the NHS for a new world”.
The online hospital will be accessible through the NHS app and will allow patients to choose between the digital service and their local hospital.
Those who use the service will be able to access and track prescriptions, be referred for scans and tests and receive clinical advice on managing their condition.
Patients who require a physical test or a procedure will be able to book them on the app at a nearby hospital, surgical hub or community diagnostic centre.
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, said some NHS organisations trialling online hospital programmes were triaging patients within two days.
Describing how the programme may work, he told LBC: “When you’re trying to book online to see a GP, booking your GP appointment via the app, it will identify you might be eligible for the NHS online hospital and you’ll be directed there. Where this is working, people are getting triaged within 48 hours, and that is much quicker.”
Streeting said the programme would not be rolled out until 2027 because “we’ve got to make sure it’s tested. We’ve got to make sure it’s safe”.
He said: “Some of us, like myself, much prefer to see someone over the screen or over the phone rather than take time off work if I can possibly avoid it.”
The scheme builds on ideas already being used in some NHS trusts to reduce waiting times and allow patients to get treatment or advice quicker.
In his speech, Starmer will describe it as “a new chapter in the story of our NHS, harnessing the future, patients in control”. He will say: “Waiting times cut for every single person in this country. That’s national renewal, that’s a Britain built for all.”
Streeting ruled out adding VAT to private healthcare after reports that the government was considering doing this in the budget.
Asked on Times Radio whether it was a good idea, he replied: “No, and the government won’t be doing it.”
He added: “I don’t know what the genesis of the story was but that’s not something the government is looking to do.”
Starmer will stress the need for continued NHS modernisation, insisting it is Labour’s responsibility to make the health service fit for the years to come.
He will say: “I know how hard people work in the NHS – I see it my family – and I celebrate it at every opportunity. But the responsibility of this party is not just to celebrate the NHS, it’s to make it better.”
Daniel Elkeles, the chief executive of NHS Providers, said: “This is a bold, exciting initiative, but the benefits should not come at the cost of destabilising vital services patients will continue to rely on.”
