NHS England is planning to run a trial of referring women directly to breast diagnostic clinics through the NHS App.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced plans for the pilot project in Somerset at the Royal College of GPs’ conference this week.
It will involve the NHS 111 advice service, which is available through the app, making direct referrals for diagnostic testing, saving the women the time and stress of arranging a GP appointment.
The scheme will be evaluated before any further roll out is considered.
Cutting out appointments
Streeting said: “Where there are appointments that can be cut out, with patients seen by specialists faster and GPs’ time freed up to do what only GPs can do, we will act.
“Starting in November, 111 online, which is available through the NHS app, will pilot directly referring women with a worrying lump to a breast clinic. That means faster diagnosis for cancer patients.”
Dr Vin Diwakar, NHS medical director for transformation, added: “This is just the start of our plans to bring NHS services to patients through the app.”
They also spoke about plans to create a single patient record that enables staff to see a medical history, and from which data can be shared – with the patient’s explicit consent – for research into medical conditions.
