A revolutionary ‘online hospital’ is set to reduce waiting times for NHS services, enhancing access to specialists for conditions like prostate cancer, menopause, and vision problems.

Through the NHS App, patients can engage in video consultations with doctors nationwide following a referral from their general practitioner. This initiative allows individuals to consult with specialists who have shorter waiting periods, bypassing potentially lengthy queues at their local hospitals.

Last year, Sir Keir Starmer alluded to a transformative era, revealing the government’s strategy to roll out NHS Online. This service aims to simplify healthcare access, likening it to the ease of ordering a taxi or a meal delivery.

NHS England has now disclosed the initial conditions that will be addressed by this service once it begins admitting patients next year.

This announcement coincides with new data indicating the NHS struggled to maintain its service levels before Christmas. This challenge was exacerbated by an increasing number of resident doctors striking over pay disputes.

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

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.

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.

Health secretary Wes Streeting

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.

Sir Keir had branded their action ‘dangerous and utterly irresponsible’ and urged them not to ‘abandon patients’.

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.

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.

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.

There were more than 5,000 fewer patients in hospital this Christmas day compared to Christmas day last year, according to the data.

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.’

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’.

Resident doctors on a picket line at St Thomas’ Hospital in London in December

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.

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

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.

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

People with iron deficiency anaemia and inflammatory bowel disease may also get help through the service.

NHS Online means people can speak to doctors without leaving their home or having to wait for an in-person appointment.

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.

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.

Sir Jim Mackey, chief executive of NHS England

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.’

Mr Streeting said: ‘NHS Online will make accessing healthcare as simple as ordering a cab or a takeaway – fundamentally changing how people interact with the NHS for generations to come.’

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.

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.

‘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.

‘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.’