Prostate and women’s health symptoms to be prioritised for GP referrals to ‘online hospital’

NHS England has outlined nine conditions for which GPs will be able to refer patients to the new ‘online hospital’ service from next year, including prostate cancer symptoms.

First announced last year, patients will be given ‘the option of using NHS Online when their GP makes a referral for specialist care’, starting from 2027.

The conditions include prostate enlargement and raised prostate specific antigen (PSA) level, as well as women’s health symptoms that point to endometriosis and fibroids.

GPs will also be able to refer patients who suffer with eye-conditions cataracts, glaucoma and macular degeneration; as well as iron deficiency anaemia and inflammatory bowel disease.

NHS England said the online hospital service will ‘transform how healthcare is delivered’ by ‘allowing patients to be triaged quickly through the NHS App, speak to doctors via video consultation, and monitored in the comfort of their home, saving unnecessary trips to hospital.’ 

The service is expected to deliver the equivalent of up to 8.5 million virtual appointments and assessments in its first three years. 

The service will cut waiting times by allowing patients to be seen remotely via the NHS App by clinicians ‘across England, no matter where they are in the country’, NHS England said, helping to ‘tackle deep rooted inequalities in the healthcare system’ by ‘ending the postcode lottery of care’ and make access to treatment ‘as easy as online banking’.

NHS England national clinical director for elective care Professor Stella Vig said: ‘The NHS’s new online hospital will see a huge shift in the way we deliver care, giving patients the option to have an online appointment with a specialist anywhere in England.’ 

Professor Azeem Majeed, a GP and head of the Department of Primary Care and Public Health at Imperial College London, said the changes could be welcome news for GPs but warned of the need to retain the option for GPs to refer less digitally literate patients to in-person hospital appointments. 

He told Pulse NHS Online could improve access to care for conditions often associated with long waits which would be ‘a positive step towards reducing unwarranted variation in care’. 

‘General practice will continue to play an important role in supporting people to navigate the new system, particularly for those with more complex symptoms who will still need face-to-face assessment’, Professor Majeed said. 

But he warned that ‘digital literacy, access to technology and reliable Internet connectivity vary widely across communities, and targeted support will be essential to make NHS Online accessible to all.  

‘This must also include ensuring the platform is fully usable for people with disabilities such as those with hearing or visual impairments so that accessibility needs are built in from the outset. 

‘Any change to referral pathways must also come with clear guidance, adequate resourcing and seamless integration with primary care workflows. Done well, NHS Online could ease some of the pressure on traditional outpatient clinics and improve patients’ experience of care.’ 

As part of the NHS 10-year health plan, the NHS App will be expanded to include a new ‘My NHS GP’ tool to will handle non-urgent care enquiries using AI. 

As previously announced, the NHS App will also get an AI feature that will allow patients to discuss their health issues and help guide their GP consultations. 

The news comes as the Government is currently in the process of determining whether to introduce screening for prostate cancer, with the National Screening Committee favouring a model where only men with a confirmed BRCA1/2 gene mutation would be included.