Latest news with #digitalcommunication
Telegraph
09-06-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
The NHS and Royal Mail are a match made in hell
Your bank doesn't send letters ticking you off about your overdraft anymore. Neither does your lawyer, or your accountant, or anyone else for that matter. Even your birthday or Christmas cards typically arrive via your phone's inbox instead of the front door. There is, however, one organisation that still finds a piece of paper delivered by hand to be the most efficient way to communicate: the NHS. Its spending on the Royal Mail is still soaring – with taxpayers footing the bill. The Health Secretary Wes Streeting may still trot out his standard speech about how the NHS is a global leader in new technologies and how Artificial Intelligence will drive a new era of productivity. The reality, as so often, turns out to be very different. We learned this week that the technology that the health service relies on is one from the 1840s: the letter with a stamp on it. Despite pledging to switch to a completely digital way of communicating with patients, according to research from the Taxpayer's Alliance the amount the health service spent on mail punched through £100 million this year, up by 12.5 per cent over the last twelve months. Even though up to a quarter of the estimated eight million missed appointments a year were the fault of delays in the post, hospital managers persist in using letters as their main form of managing the system. The last quarter of a century of technological progress has completely passed it by. Indeed, at the current rate of growth the NHS will be spending £180 million a year by the end of the decade on the postal service, and more than £500 million by the 2040s. Perhaps the takeover of the mail system by the Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky makes sense after all. While most of us may have imagined the postal business was in terminal decline, perhaps there is a fortune to be made as the booking system of the NHS. The trouble is that it should hardly come as a surprise to anyone. In reality, the NHS and Royal Mail are perfect partners for each other. They are both relics of a different era, created at a time when we still believed that government-owned monopolies were the most effective way to deliver a product or a service. They are both hopelessly inefficient and riddled with restrictive practices. They are both dominated by trade unions that are resistant to change; that protect their privileges with a single-minded determination; and bask in a sense of entitlement that justifies everything they do. And they are both completely resistant to new technology, even if it could transform both the quality and the efficiency of the service they are meant to be delivering. They could both move with the times if they wanted to. But it would cause too much inconvenience for the staff. Instead, they are perfectly happy to prop each other up – with the long-suffering taxpayer left to foot the bill for both of them.
Telegraph
08-06-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
NHS spent £100 million on post last year
The NHS spent at least £102 million on posting letters last year despite pledging to go digital because of unreliable deliveries. The amount spent on sending mail, which can regularly arrive late and cause missed appointments, was up by 12.5 per cent on the year before, according to new research by the Taxpayers' Alliance. The research results have been released as the health service is about to get £30 billion more over three years in Rachel Reeves's spending review this week, to the detriment of other public services. They also revealed the NHS could make major savings in electricity and laundry costs, as well as reducing the eight million missed appointments that occur each year. The Telegraph previously revealed that the Royal Mail was introducing a new NHS barcode to cut late deliveries and the risk of missed appointments. But health officials have also pledged to do more to communicate with patients online and through the NHS app. Last week, the Department of Health said the app would become the default method of communication for patients seeking appointment reminders, screening invitations and test results as part of a major investment that would mean 50 million fewer letters are posted each year. The research from the Taxpayers' Alliance found that at least £102 million was spent in 2023-24 across 120 NHS hospital trusts, an average of £850,000 each. The researchers said this was a 'growing expense' with the costs rising by 12.5 per cent on the £90.3 million spent in 2022-23. Previous research found that as many as one in four of the eight million appointments that patients miss each year were because letters to patients arrived after the date of the planned appointment. Simon Cook, a research fellow of the Taxpayers' Alliance, said the public 'expect the NHS to double down on cutting any inefficient and wasteful expenditure'. 'With the health service facing financial pressures, there are huge savings to be made through simple, common sense changes,' he said. 'Ministers must recognise that sometimes the biggest savings don't always require major reforms, just the will to act.' The research paper also found that the NHS could save more than £150 million on electricity costs if it utilised its buying power. It said the average cost of electricity across NHS trusts in England was 30.5p per kWh in 2023-24, which was 'typically the rate that medium-sized businesses pay'. £154m potential laundry savings The NHS is the biggest single employer in Europe and 'if every NHS trust paid the average extra-large non-domestic consumer price of 22.6p, the saving would amount to £154 million in 2023-24,' the researchers said. The researchers also found significant discrepancies across the country in the amount being spent on laundry. While the NHS spent £270 million to launder 555 million items at an average cost of 48.7p per item, some areas achieved lower costs of 25p per item, while others spent £1.20. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: 'This government inherited a broken NHS with wasteful spending, in desperate need of reform. 'Yesterday, we announced major investment in the NHS app to turbocharge our digital revolution – saving hundreds of millions in taxpayers' money spent on stamps and envelopes, and enabling push notifications and reminders to help cut missed appointments. We are also cutting NHS energy bills through solar power and renewable energy – delivering further savings for the taxpayer. 'Through our Plan for Change, we are reforming the NHS to ensure that every penny is spent on what matters most.' An NHS England spokesman said: 'Millions of patients are already receiving appointment reminders, screening invitations, and test results direct to their smartphones from the NHS, saving millions of pounds, avoiding the need for letters and freeing-up resources for patient care. 'People without access to smartphones and elderly patients will still receive messages through traditional routes such as letters to ensure they don't miss important information. 'The NHS is continually exploring ways to achieve the best possible value for taxpayers, including making targeted investment in technologies that can enable us to optimise our resources and boost productivity.'
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Millions more to get test results via NHS app, government says
The NHS app will become the default method of communication for millions more patients in England and save the health service £200m over the next three years, the government has said. More test results, screening invitations and appointment reminders will be sent directly to smartphones as part of a £50m investment in the app, in a move away from traditional communication methods such as letters. It is estimated that at least 50 million letters are sent to patients each year. The Department of Health and Social Care said that people who cannot access app messaging - including elderly patients - will receive text messages and then a letter as a last resort, and NHS phone lines would be freed up. The department says 270 million messages will be sent through the NHS app this financial year - an increase of 70 million on the previous year. Push notifications will provide appointment reminders to patients to try to reduce the risk of no attendance - with around eight million missed appointments in elective care missed in 2023/24. Work is also under way to enable users of the app to add appointments to their phone calendars and request help from their local GP surgeries. Figures show that more than 11 million people in the UK log into the NHS app every month, while almost 20 million are opted in to receive healthcare messages from the app. It is hoped the changes will give patients better access to manage their healthcare journey and make informed decisions about their care. NHS app services, which were launched in December 2018, are now used in 87% of hospitals across England. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said further investment in the app would bring the NHS into the digital age so that being a patient was as "convenient as online banking or ordering a takeaway". He added that moving away from paper communication could free up funding for front line services. Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patient's Association, said the upgrade was a "significant step in modernising how patients receive information". The British Medical Association (BMA) has previously warned that a reliance on apps to the NHS to communicate with patients risked alienating patients who don't have access to digital technology. It followed the government's announcement in January that it planned to allow more patients in England to book treatments and appointments through the app. Last month, NHS England announced millions of patients would be able to get "Amazon-style" tracking updates on their prescriptions through the app, to check if their medicines are ready to collect or have been despatched for delivery. New app trial cuts skin cancer referrals by 50% NHS App upgrade to give patients more choice over treatment Patients to get full access to record on NHS App
BBC News
07-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
NHS app: Plans for more patients in England to get results on phones
The NHS app will become the default method of communication for millions more patients in England and save the health service £200m over the next three years, the government has test results, screening invitations and appointment reminders will be sent directly to smartphones as part of a £50m investment in the app, in a move away from traditional communication methods such as is estimated that at least 50 million letters are sent to patients each Department of Health and Social Care said that people who cannot access app messaging - including elderly patients - will receive text messages and then a letter as a last resort, and NHS phone lines would be freed up. The department says 270 million messages will be sent through the NHS app this financial year - an increase of 70 million on the previous notifications will provide appointment reminders to patients to try to reduce the risk of no attendance - with around eight million missed appointments in elective care missed in 2023/ show that more than 11 million people in the UK log into the NHS app every month, while almost 20 million are opted in to receive healthcare messages from the is hoped the changes will give patients better access to manage their healthcare journey and make informed decisions about their app services, which were launched in December 2018, are now used in 87% of hospitals across Secretary Wes Streeting said further investment in the app would bring the NHS into the digital age so that being a patient was as "convenient as online banking or ordering a takeaway". He added that moving away from paper communication could free up funding for front line Power, chief executive of the Patient's Association, said the upgrade was a "significant step in modernising how patients receive information". The British Medical Association (BMA) has previously warned that a reliance on apps to the NHS to communicate with patients risked alienating patients who don't have access to digital followed the government's announcement in January that it planned to allow more patients in England to book treatments and appointments through the month, NHS England announced millions of patients would be able to get "Amazon-style" tracking updates on their prescriptions through the app, to check if their medicines are ready to collect or have been despatched for delivery.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
NHS app to become default source for appointments, screenings and test results
The NHS app will become the default method of communication for patients seeking appointment reminders, screening invitations and test results as part of a major investment. Millions more people will receive personal health information directly to their smartphones within the next three years in a move that is expected to save the health service £200 million, the Department of Health and Social Care said. It will also avoid the need for at least 50 million NHS letters being sent by post each year, with the Health Secretary likening the shift from analogue to digital to 'online banking or ordering a takeaway'. The £50 million investment will see 270 million messages sent through the NHS app this year, an increase of 70 million on the previous financial year. Push notifications will provide appointment reminders to patients to try to reduce the risk of no attendance, with around eight million missed appointments in elective care missed in 2023/24. More than 11 million people in the UK currently log into the NHS app every month, while almost 20 million are opted in to receive healthcare messages from the app. Where app messaging is not available, particularly for elderly patients without smartphones, communications will be sent via text message and then by letter as a last resort and phone lines will be freed up. It is hoped the changes will give patients better access to manage their healthcare journey and make informed decisions about their care. NHS app services, which were launched in December 2018, are now used in 87% of hospitals across England. Last month, NHS England announced millions of patients would be able to get 'Amazon-style' tracking updates on their prescriptions through the app, to check if their medicines are ready to collect or have been despatched for delivery. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: 'People are living increasingly busy lives and want to access information about their health at the touch of a button, rather than having to wait weeks for letters that often arrive too late. 'This Government is bringing our analogue health service into the digital age, so that being a patient in the NHS is as convenient as online banking or ordering a takeaway. 'The NHS still spends hundreds of millions of pounds on stamps, printing, and envelopes. By modernising the health service, we can free up huge amounts of funding to reinvest in the front line. 'Through the investment and reform in our Plan for Change, we will make the NHS App the front door to the health service and put power in the hands of patients.' Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patient's Association, said: 'This major upgrade to the NHS App marks a significant step in modernising how patients receive information, from test results to screening invitations. 'This was a recommendation from our Digital Coalition and realises changes that patients have asked for. 'We welcome this investment and the ambition behind it. Success for any digital innovation will be the implementation of the Digital Inclusion Plan and working directly with patients and communities.'
