Overview

• Accessible through the NHS App, the service will connect patients to specialist clinicians for prescriptions, referrals, tests and clinical advice, with in‑person care remaining available by choice.
• NHS Online is scheduled to begin in 2027 and will initially target treatment areas with the longest waits, aiming to deliver up to 8.5 million additional appointments in its first three years.
• Ministers say triage will route eligible patients to the virtual service, with Wes Streeting citing pilots where people were assessed within 48 hours.
• Pilot sites such as University Hospital Southampton and Barking, Havering and Redbridge reported faster triage, large reductions in face‑to‑face demand and shorter waits, while NHS England’s chief executive endorsed scaling the model.
• Provider bodies and patient groups welcomed the ambition but flagged the need for new funding, workforce planning and safeguards on data and digital exclusion, as the BMA entered a dispute over a separate rule requiring GP practices to keep online consultation tools open from October 1.