30 September 2025
Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the creation of a ‘digital NHS trust’ during his speech at the Labour Party Conference today (Tuesday 30 September).
The new model will allow the ageing population to “shift care closer to their lives,” Starmer said.
Starmer used the example of an elderly patient in a rural community who, via the digital NHS trust, will be able to see a “top specialist” for an eye condition from their iPad at home.
Rural communities and single parents will also benefit from the move, Starmer said.
Up to 8.5 million appointments will be created via the digital NHS trust, helping to cut NHS waiting times, Starmer revealed.
He added that the move is an example of “harnessing the future, patients in control, [and] waiting times cut.”
Starmer emphasised that he understands how hard those employed in the NHS work, and that he sees this within his own family.
“The responsibility of this party is not just to celebrate the NHS – it is to make it better,” Starmer said.
The Prime Minister emphasised his belief that, when it comes to public services, standing still in reality means “going backwards.”
Starmer hopes to create a “renewed NHS for a new world” and wants people to look back at the current moment as one of change in the same way that the post-war years, when the NHS was created, are looked back upon, he said.
He went on to speak about the potential of artificial intelligence, saying that he has met patients who are alive because of the new technology.
The Prime Minister did not provide information on when the digital NHS trust might be developed, or whether it would be accessible via the NHS App.
Lead image: Prime Minister Keir Starmer during a photocall on 25 September, ahead of the Labour Party Conference
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