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8.5m appointments in first 3yrs of Labour's new online hospitals

- BY LIZZY BUCHAN Political Editor

KEIR Starmer's radical online hospitals plan is a major step in rescuing an NHS crippled by years of savage Tory cuts.

The PM is due to announce the move today which is expected to deliver 8.5 million appointments in the first three years, cutting long waits for treatment.

Patients will be able to access prescriptions, be referred for scans and tests and receive clinical advice from their own homes.

NHS Online will start from 2027, but patients with no access to computers or who struggle with technology are still able to get appointments with hospital doctors in person.

In a speech to Labour's Liverpool conference today, Mr Starmer will say: "In decades to come, I want people to look back on this moment as the moment we renewed the NHS for a new world.

"A new chapter in the story of our NHS, harnessing the future, patients in control.

"Waiting times cut for every single person. That's national renewal, a Britain built for all."