The government's health is in the hands of Streeting

As part of his presentation on the 10-year plan for the NHS, the prime minister promised the nation “a doctor in your pocket”.

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It was an all-too-rare example of the government offering thepublic a tangible, and significant, improvement in the quality of their individual and collective lives. Rather than the depressing routine of being bombarded with tax hikes and cuts to services and the welfare state, here is something - a greatly enhanced NHS app for smartphones - that the voters can actually look forward to.

Sir Keir Starmer, flanked by a more confident-looking Rachel Reeves, declared that, under the plan, everyone will have the opportunity to use their smartphones or tablets to book appointments online, have access to 24/7 health advice, order repeat prescriptions, review their own medical records, and be given guidance to approach charities and companies that may supply more help. It would indeed be transformative, part of the long-overdue NHS transition from analogue to digital systems.

If all goes well, the NHS will transform from a service with fax machines in its clinical offices to a world leader in the application of artificial intelligence to boost productivity and save lives. Indeed, in reviewing scan results, AI is already proving its worth. For these reasons and more, the government's NHS plan deserves a cautious welcome.