NHS App to handle 95% of post-triage appointments by April 2026

Credit: Getty Images/Jelena Stanojkovi

By Daniel Pye

At least 95% of appointments after triage will be made via the NHS App across all care settings from April next year, according to guidance.

The Medium-Term Planning Framework sets out how the NHS will deliver the government’s objectives under the 10-Year-Plan. From April 2026, the NHS will begin to fully adopt all existing capabilities in the app as a priority, the plans stated.

It will also move to a unified access model using “AI-assisted triage” through the NHS app “but with an integrated telephony and in-person offering”.

For primary care, integrated care boards must transition all messaging to NHS Notify, using NHS App-based push notifications as the default option by 2026-27.

This will “terminate” all local arrangements for direct-to-patient communication services, with an aim of completing the migration by 2028/29.

The framework calls the NHS app a ‘doctor in their pocket’ for patients. Starting this year, the government will bring forward a roadmap for the app.