{"id":676716,"date":"2026-01-06T02:15:24","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T02:15:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/676716\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T02:15:24","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T02:15:24","slug":"prostate-problems-and-menopause-to-be-tackled-via-new-nhs-online-hospital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/676716\/","title":{"rendered":"Prostate problems and menopause to be tackled via new NHS ‘online hospital’"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new ‘online hospital’ will cut waits for NHS<\/a> care and speed up access to specialists for issues such as prostate cancer<\/a>, the menopause<\/a> and eyesight.<\/p>\n

Patients will be able to use the NHS App to have a video consultation with a doctor anywhere in the country, following a referral from their GP.<\/p>\n

It means they can see an expert with shorter waiting lists, rather than having to join a potentially longer queue at their local hospital.<\/p>\n

Sir Keir Starmer<\/a> said a ‘new world is coming’ when he revealed last year that the government plans to launch NHS Online in a move that aims to make accessing healthcare as easy as ordering a taxi or a takeaway.<\/p>\n

Now NHS England has announced the first conditions that will be managed by the service when it admits its first patients next year.<\/p>\n

It comes as new data shows the NHS failed to maintain the level of service it wanted in the run-up to Christmas<\/a> as a growing number of resident doctors walked out on strike in a row over pay.<\/p>\n

The NHS kept 94.7 per cent of planned routine care going during the five days of industrial action between December 17 and 22 – slightly below the 95 per cent it was aiming for.<\/p>\n

An average 19,120 medics took part in the walkout each day, which is higher than the 17,236 average in the last set of strikes in November.<\/p>\n

\"Health <\/p>\n

Health secretary Wes Streeting<\/p>\n

The resident doctors – previously known as junior doctors – are seeking a 26 per cent pay rise on top the 28.9 per cent they have received over the past three years.<\/p>\n

Sir Keir had branded their action ‘dangerous and utterly irresponsible’ and urged them not to ‘abandon patients’.<\/p>\n

And health secretary Wes Streeting accused the British Medical Association of timing the strike at the moment of ‘maximum danger’, as the NHS was being battered by a super-flu outbreak and had fewer staff available to cover due to Christmas holidays and sickness.<\/p>\n

The doctors’ union is currently balloting members in order to secure a new mandate that would allow them to extend strikes by another six months.<\/p>\n

In a letter to NHS workers today, NHS chief executive Sir Jim Mackey praised staff for hitting a target of having less than 80 per cent of hospital beds filled on Christmas day, freeing up beds for other people in need.<\/p>\n

There were more than 5,000 fewer patients in hospital this Christmas day compared to Christmas day last year, according to the data.<\/p>\n

Sir Jim, who has branded the strikes ‘cruel and calculated’, wrote: ‘The way you have all managed industrial action and then quickly had to prepare for the Christmas period was truly remarkable.’<\/p>\n

Mr Streeting also praised staff who ‘worked tirelessly during the BMA’s latest round of strikes to keep the show on the road’, noting they had ‘battled through the double whammy of a flu epidemic during industrial action’.<\/p>\n

\"Resident <\/p>\n

Resident doctors on a picket line at St Thomas’ Hospital in London in December<\/p>\n

He added: ‘With bitterly cold weather creating new challenges for the health service this week, there is still a long way to go and the hard graft doesn’t stop here.<\/p>\n

‘I’m determined to resolve the BMA resident doctor disputes this year for the sake of patients, staff and the whole NHS.’<\/p>\n

The conditions eligible for a referral to NHS Online include women’s health issues such as severe menopausal symptoms and symptoms of endometriosis or fibroids.<\/p>\n

Prostate enlargement and a raised prostate specific antigen (PSA) level \u2013 a possible sign of prostate cancer \u2013 will also be covered by the service, alongside eye conditions such as cataracts, glaucoma and macular degeneration.<\/p>\n

People with iron deficiency anaemia and inflammatory bowel disease may also get help through the service.<\/p>\n

NHS Online means people can speak to doctors without leaving their home or having to wait for an in-person appointment.<\/p>\n

Patients will be given the option of using NHS Online when their GP makes a referral, though they can opt for an in-person appointment if they prefer.<\/p>\n

Tests, scans and procedures will continue to take place at sites close to people’s homes, though people can have ongoing monitoring through the app.<\/p>\n

\"Sir <\/p>\n

Sir Jim Mackey, chief executive of NHS England<\/p>\n

Professor Stella Vig, national clinical director for elective care at NHS England, said: ‘We know that these conditions can be painful and difficult to cope with so providing faster, more convenient access to diagnosis and treatments will have a real and positive impact on people’s lives.’<\/p>\n

Mr Streeting said: ‘NHS Online will make accessing healthcare as simple as ordering a cab or a takeaway \u2013 fundamentally changing how people interact with the NHS for generations to come.’<\/p>\n

Chris McCann, from patient watchdog Healthwatch England, said the prospect of NHS Online cutting waiting times will come as ‘welcome news’ to those facing long delays.<\/p>\n

He added: ‘The combined waiting list across the areas of care covered under the new virtual referral services currently includes more than 1.9 million people.<\/p>\n

‘Our own research shows that on one of the biggest service waiting lists, ophthalmology, nearly a quarter of people have been waiting over a year for specialist help.<\/p>\n

‘Those waiting have told us about worsening vision as a result of long waits, affecting their ability to work and socialise and with negative effects on mental health.’<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A new ‘online hospital’ will cut waits for NHS care and speed up access to specialists for issues…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":676717,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4316],"tags":[92,105,4348,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-676716","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-dailymail","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-healthcare","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115845747630759696","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/676716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=676716"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/676716\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/676717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=676716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=676716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=676716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}