Consultation on the creation of a new NHS Online - our response
This is the response from Healthwatch Brighton and Hove to the consultation which is based on our extensive engagement with local people on the use of digital and remote appointments in the health care settings
Background
The 10 Year Health Plan sets out the government’s ambition to increase the availability of virtual services for NHS patients. The Plan states that “by 2035, most outpatient care will happen outside of hospitals in the community”, enabled through greater use of digital tools, to ensure patients continue to have a choice over where and how they receive care. The new NHS Online Trust is a new concept to deliver on this ambition.
On 30th September 2025, the Prime Minister announced the intention to establish the first ever national digital-first elective NHS online service to transform how the NHS delivers care and make a real impact on waiting times. The expectation is for the new NHS trust to be established on 1st June 2026. A period of testing the service with patients will begin in January 2027 before launching later in 2027.
The new NHS Online trust is intended to deliver a range of end-to-end specialist planned care services digitally and will be a choice for all NHS patients on certain pathways and who are signed up to the NHS App across the country. This short video introduces the concept and how it is intended to work in practice.
Our response
Healthwatch Brighton and Hove CIC developed an interest in digital technology given the dramatic shift to digital GP access since the Covid-19 pandemic. From this, we know that certain people locally are less likely to use digital technology and could face disadvantage in the new trust if appropriate actions are not taken. In our recently published review, we summarise 11 projects where we have examined digital technology as a means of accessing and holding appointments with health and care professionals, and describe both the benefits and concerns of local people. These are listed in Annex A together with a summary of the results, alongside other relevant reports. The data shows changes in people’s attitude to digital health solutions over time but underlines the impacts on those who remain digitally excluded. Our response to this consultation is therefore based on local insight collated during the past 6 years.
Public polling
To support our submission, in February 2026, we conducted polling of local people about the creation of the new trust. We heard from 159 people, and a separate report provides full details of what we heard, but in summary, our findings show a divided response to the new trust. Some people welcome its creation and the possibility of online appointments. For others it raises a number of concerns including digital security and access for those who struggle with technology. There was great interest in understanding how you could switch between using NHS Online and being seen in person and in knowing that you will not lose your place on a waiting list if you transfer to NHS Online.
