Treatment for eye conditions included in newly established Online NHS Trust

The NHS’ first fully digital trust has been formally established, with glaucoma, cataracts and medical retina conditions confirmed as being amongst the first conditions covered.

Online NHS Trust will see conditions “where evidence already shows digital care works well and current waiting times are long,” its website said.

The Online NHS Trust, which was announced by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer during his speech at the 2025 Labour Party conference, will start seeing patients in England from late 2027.

The trust will utilise referrals based on an initial primary care assessment, aiming to connect patients with specialists wherever they are in the country after an appointment with a GP or other provider.

Care will be available via the NHS App and through video consultations, with in-person tests and procedures being booked with local providers.

The Government hopes that the Online NHS Trust will help to reduce waiting times, improve access to care across England, and make it easier for people to access NHS services.

Suitable patients will be able to access online consultations, get advice on managing conditions, access digital prescriptions, and book tests, treatments and procedures via the app.

Clinicians will be able to triage patients and review their notes remotely, potentially outside office hours, without the patient needing to be present, Online NHS Trust said.

It is hoped that the trust will carry out 8.5 million appointments within its first three years.

Existing NHS staff will be given the opportunity to work for NHS Online Trust alongside their usual job, NHS England said.

OT is seeking confirmation on whether primary care optometrists will also have the opportunity to offer initial consultations as part of the new trust.

A survey of nearly 300 consultants and specialist doctors, carried out by NHS England, found that 48% would be willing to offer at least four hours a week of their time to work for the trust.

The opportunity to care for patients innovatively, to work flexibly, and to improve patient experience were among the top reasons that practitioners gave for wanting to sign up.

An experienced leadership team

Business leader John Browett, who has held a number of chief executive positions in retail and is currently a senior adviser to Boston Consulting Group, has been named as the trust’s inaugural chair. Dame Ruth May, who has four decades of experience within the NHS, has taken on the role of senior independent director.

Browett said: “I’m delighted to take up the role of Chair of the Online NHS Trust, which will deliver NHS Online, as we take this important step towards bringing patients faster and easier access to specialist care.

“In my previous roles across technology and retail, I’ve seen how much people value services that are intuitive, responsive and built around their needs and look forward to helping shape this new way of delivering NHS care.”

Non-executive directors of the trust include health technology experts, an NHS GP, the former chief executive officer of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, and those with finance and start-up expertise.

James Murray MP, the health secretary, said that Online NHS Trust will bring “the NHS into the digital age and in line with the technology people use every day.”

“By cutting waiting lists and connecting people to experts from the comfort of their own homes, NHS Online is going to make a real, tangible difference to patients and represents a major step in building a health service fit for the future,” Murray said.