Plans to make the NHS app the default method of communication for millions of patients have been cautiously welcomed by DAUK’s GP committee.
Dr Steve Taylor, Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) GP spokesperson and a GP in Manchester, said the app was ‘excellent’.
Describing it as the ‘cherry on the cake’, he told national radio listeners the app had the potential to save the NHS hundreds of millions of pounds.
But he said the NHS needed investment in frontline staff, equipment, and buildings for the app to reach its full potential.
“The app is the cherry on top of the cake. The problem is the cake is a bit small,” Dr Taylor told listeners to LBC.
“We do need to spend some money if we want access to healthcare.”
GP employment
He added: “Despite the headlines of 1,500 extra GPs in work, those jobs that (health secretary) Wes Streeting has announced are not substantive roles.
“They’re not seeing patients in the same way I would see patients because they are in all sorts of roles all over practices.”
He was commenting on Government plans for the NHS App to become the go-to method of communication for patients.
The Government said it would avoid the need to send at least 50 million letters through the post.
This would save an estimated £200 million across the system over the next three years, the Government said.
Dr Taylor told LBC that, as a GP, he could see a lot of potential for the app.
NHS app
“The hope is to use the app to book appointments and do other things,” he said.
“I’d love for our hospital colleagues to send prescriptions to local pharmacists. That would save me as a GP the most time.
“One of the things I struggle with the most is the lack of a joined-up approach.
“But the problem, as I alluded to, is not enough cake. Doctors are struggling to find work.”
Listen to Dr Taylor’s interview in full.
Please support our work by contributing to our crowd funder or by becoming a member.
