The Department of Health and Social Care has announced plans to launch a new platform, My Planned Care, to provide information online for patients waiting for elective surgeries.
It hopes to help ‘improve transparency’ on wait times for patients and to provide additional support online ahead of surgery, such as through personalised plans. This includes support such as to stop smoking, or diet and exercise plans, and information to help prevent deterioration and help patients recover.
The platform is said to provide details on the expected wait times, with healthcare providers able to upload information to the platform, and be a place where clinicians will be able to connect patients to the ‘most appropriate personalised support’.
The platform will be launched on NHS.UK in February, and it’s expected to be delivered through the NHS App in the future.
“This platform, combined with our record funding to tackle the backlog and invest in innovative diagnosis and treatment will help us ensure access to life changing care and support for people no matter who they are or where they live.”
In January, the UK’s Health and Social Care Committee released a report on tackling the healthcare backlog, which includes recommendations related to health tech and digital developments.
Entitled ‘Clearing the Backlog caused by the pandemic’, the 46-page document looks at the scale and impact of the backlog on a wide range of services, as well as the funding and policies in place to help relieve the pressures, before making a series of conclusions and recommendations.
