The government has published its 10 Year Health Plan for England, outlining how it will transform the NHS through three shifts – hospital to community, analogue to digital and sickness to prevention.
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 on 3 July 2025 – 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 first 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.
It is right that the 10 Year Health Plan will establish the digital and data foundations of the NHS to realise the potential of health innovation in empowering patients, better supporting the NHS workforce and driving economic growth in every community.
The Health Innovation Network welcomes the focus on AI, expansion of the NHS App and the commitment to a single patient record, all of which will involve innovation partnerships to deliver change to local services, that will have a national impact.
The 15 health innovation networks across England, look ahead to operationalising these plans and working with our partners to find, test and implement at scale innovations that improve patient outcomes, increases NHS productivity and reduce waiting lists, while delivering economic growth. If we get this right we will not only greatly increase outcomes and satisfaction for our patients, but we will also boost our essential life sciences sector and, as our Defining the Size of the Health Innovation Prize report found, add up to £278bn a year to the UK economy.
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.
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 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.
We welcome the government’s ambition to expand the NHS App as a central part of the 10 Year Health Plan. It could deliver the fundamental change patients have asked for in their interactions with the NHS, including the ability to manage their appointments, self-refer to vital services and, in 3 years’ time, be able to view their health records through the single patient record.
Our work with patients shows that those using the app often feel more in control and more satisfied with their care. But with nearly 1 in 4 still facing barriers to digital access, we must ensure that innovation doesn’t come at the cost of inclusion. If the NHS App is to become the digital front door, there must always be a real-world, accessible front door as well, with face-to-face or telephone options in place for those who need or want them. True progress means making the system work for everyone.
Read Fit for the future: 10 Year Health Plan for England.
Read the full press release Managing healthcare easy as online banking with revamped NHS app.
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