People suffering from back pain and arthritis will be able to bypass GPs to get the specialist help they need by tapping their smartphones. More patients will be able to self-refer using the NHS app to access vital services such as physiotherapy, pain management and orthopaedics.

This is intended to cut waiting times for patients while freeing-up doctors to concentrate on complex cases and relieving pressure on hospitals. The changes are billed as part of a “radical overhaul in patient empowerment” which will stop people being passed “from pillar to post”.

It will also become easier to access mental health talking therapies and podiatry and audiology services.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: “Every patient knows what it’s like to go from appointment to appointment, passed from pillar to post, until you finally see the specialist you need. Our plan for change will put patients in control of their healthcare journey, so they access care faster.

“By cutting unnecessary appointments, we will free up GPs to see the patients they really need to see. By speeding up care for back pain and arthritis, we will get patients back to health, back to work and off welfare.   Our 10-year plan for health will upgrade the NHS app so it provides far more convenience, information, and choice to patients.”  

The use of the app to help people with “musculoskeletal” conditions access community services comes alongside a drive for an extra 29,000 bone scans to be carried out each year in England. Thirteen new scanners will be used to diagnose osteoporosis and similar conditions earlier.

The Sunday Express is campaigning for the full roll-out of “fracture liaison services” across NHS trusts so osteoporosis will be spotted at the earliest possible stage. The Government has affirmed it is committed to the roll-out of these services “across every part of the country by 2030”.   

Under Mr Streeting’s plans, by 2028 the NHS app “will be a full front door to the entire NHS”.

It is hoped patients will be able to use the app to “manage their medicines, view their data, book and hold their appointments, communicate with their health team and draft their care plan”.

Every year, new functions will be added to the app with the goal of building a “fully digitally enabled NHS over the next 10 years”.