The NHS App has long been part of the wider digital transformation conversation but it now sits at the heart of policy, strategy and operational delivery. No longer a ‘nice to have’, the app is central to the NHS’s plan to reshape how patients engage with care.
Following the 10 Year Health plan, the government’s vision is clear: the NHS must evolve from hospital-centric to community-based, from reactive to preventative, and from analogue to digital-first. The NHS App is a key enabler for that shift. By 2028, it will serve as the full front door to NHS England, allowing patients to manage appointments, access self-referrals, receive advice and interact directly with care providers in a way that suits them.
For general practice, this is a turning point. Practices are under mounting pressure to modernise access, reduce reliance on phone lines and empower patients to self-serve. The NHS App is how this becomes possible. But the 2025 GP Patient Survey found that one in three (35.5%) of patients find it difficult to contact their GP practice using the NHS App1. As App uptake remains inconsistent, and without active promotion and integration at practice level, the system-wide goals simply won’t land.
How is the NHS App central to the future of access?
The government’s 10-year plan positions the NHS App as the cornerstone of a “digitally accessible health system” that supports a more personalised, equitable model of care. It is part of the government’s wider ambition to offer patients “a doctor in their pocket”, a single interface where they can book same-day GP appointments, receive test results, access care plans and manage prescriptions.
Recent and upcoming NHS App enhancements are accelerating this shift. Recent updates include access to digital correspondence such as referral and hospital letters, and calendar integration for GP appointments. Planned features currently in development include proxy access for managing the care of children and dependents, personalised notifications and prescription order tracking. Together, these updates aim to make the app a central, trusted hub for patients to manage their care confidently and independently.
This is about far more than convenience. The app is designed to relieve administrative pressure and reduce the burden on already stretched practice teams. By enabling patients to self-serve where appropriate such as checking symptoms, accessing remote consultations or cancelling appointments, it helps create more space in the system for patients with complex needs. As the 10-year plan makes clear, “people who need one will be able to get a same-day GP appointment”, but that goal hinges on digital access being actively enabled and promoted at a local level.
Why practices must drive NHS App adoption
Despite national investment and NHS App roadmap in place, uptake of the NHS App remains variable. For many practices, low patient usage translates to missed opportunities, both in terms of reducing workload and improving access equity. If the majority of patients still default to phone or walk-in contact, the intended benefits of the NHS App simply can’t materialise.
Practices have a critical role to play. Encouraging patient usage isn’t just a communications task, it’s an operational one. It means signposting at every interaction, building app usage into call deflection strategies, and making digital the first and most visible option. It is clear we need to harness digital to ensure the NHS is fit for future generations. But without practice-level action, the gap between digital capability and actual adoption will continue to grow, leaving teams overstretched and patients underserved.
Encourage NHS App usage through care navigation tools
That’s where tools like X-on Health’s Surgery Assist come in. Purpose-built to reduce inbound call demand and direct patients to the most appropriate point of care, this AI-powered care navigation chatbot helps bridge the gap between policy ambition and everyday usage.
Working 24/7 and fully integrated across practice websites and systems, Surgery Assist engages patients before they hit the phone queue. It helps them navigate services, complete digital triage and encourages them to use the NHS App. The impact is measurable. After deploying Surgery Assist, Westongrove partnership transformed patient access: NHS App registrations rose by almost 2,000, repeat prescription requests via the NHS App increased by 25% and App views doubled from 13,000 to 26,000—demonstrating better patient engagement. These aren’t marginal gains; they are structural shifts in access behaviour.
Importantly, Surgery Assist helps to unlock equitable patient access through technology. Through dynamic language translation and inclusive design, it helps practices reach patient cohorts that might otherwise struggle to engage with new tools. Whether it’s through personalised messaging, clear signposting or AI-driven recommendations, the assistant plays a crucial role in building digital confidence across the patient community.
Understand NHS App usage data with real-time insights
Understanding whether the NHS App is working for your patient population requires visibility of your data, and that’s where Surgery Insights adds further value.
This centralised dashboard gives practices a real-time view of NHS App usage, broken down by patient cohort and activity type. Practices can track sign-ups, monitor engagement trends and spot opportunities to tailor communications and improve uptake. Combined with chatbot and telephony data, this creates a complete picture of patient behaviour, allowing practice teams to move from reactive to proactive management. Rather than guessing where the gaps are, practices can use data to prioritise action and allocate resources effectively.
Take control of the NHS App
The NHS App is not just a digital tool, it’s the foundation of a future-ready access model. But technology alone isn’t enough. Adoption requires consistent promotion, thoughtful integration, and support for patients who may need help navigating change. With Surgery Assist, practices can take control of this transition. By guiding patients to digital services like the NHS App rather than defaulting to the phone, they ease pressure on their teams, deliver better access for patients and align with national strategy.
The ambition is clear. By 2028, the NHS App should be the standard way patients access care. With the right tools and data, practices don’t have to wait, they can start rewiring access today.