Labour to Launch ‘Virtual NHS Trust‘ Offering Specialist Care Remotely
LIVERPOOL – Keir Starmer is set to announce a plan to introduce a ”virtual NHS trust” offering patients specialist treatment and consultations remotely, as part of a wider push to leverage technology and improve efficiency within the health service. The initiative, spearheaded by Shadow health Secretary Wes Streeting, will provide patients with the option of video appointments with specialists and streamlined prescription management.
The move aims to address longstanding issues of access and productivity within the NHS, offering an choice to traditional hospital visits and potentially reducing costs. Patients requiring scans or operations will still be able to access these services through existing NHS hospitals and diagnostic centres,but the virtual trust will offer a new pathway for specialist care. This announcement comes as Labour seeks to position itself as a party focused on practical solutions for improving public services, with a particular emphasis on technological innovation.
Streeting has identified improved technology as a central component of his ten-year plan for the NHS, arguing it can both enhance patient care and boost productivity. Recent figures indicate a 2.7 per cent improvement in NHS productivity last year, and Streeting believes that replicating the efficiency of the best-performing hospitals across the system coudl save up to £20 billion on routine operations.
Starmer is expected to frame the scale of the required transformation as comparable to the post-war rebuilding of Britain, while expressing confidence in the country’s ability to deliver the necessary changes. “No matter how many people tell me it can’t be done, I believe Britain can come together,” he will say, according to prepared remarks. “We can pursue a shared destination. We can unite around a common good. That’s my ambition, the purpose of this government. End decline, reform our public services, grow our economy from the grassroots.”
The announcement was made at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, where The Times and Sunday are covering a full program of fringe events, details of which can be found hear.
