The NHS has confirmed plans for an ‘online hospital’ , a national digital service designed to connect patients with specialist virtually, while diagnostics and procedures continue to be delivered locally.

Rather than a single platform, the online hospital represents a shift toward integrated digital care, bringing together virtual wards, e-consultations, and remote monitoring into one coordinated system. The aim is to reduce waiting times, ease hospital pressures, and give patients greater flexibility over how and where they care.

Reactions from across the services have been cautiously optimistic. Leaders see strong potential to speed up elective pathways and free up in-person capacity for complex cases. However, they also warn that success will depend on inclusive design, robust resourcing, and workforce readiness. Independent commentary from organisations such as Nuffield Trust and The King’s Fund echoes both the opportunity and the risk, highlighting the need for digital inclusion, realistic staffing plans, and safe integration with existing local integration with existing local pathways to prevent widening inequalities in access or outcomes.

The first services are expected to begin operating in 2027, with pilots planned in dermatology, cardiology, and mental health. Early evaluation of the national virtual wards programme shows that when well-resourced and properly integrated, virtual models can reduce hospital activity, improve patient experience, and strengthen continuity of care. The June 2025 report on patient and unpaid carer experiences found that virtual ward services delivered in home settings were widely valued and showed clear potential to reduce readmissions. These findings underline that success depends on robust local IT infrastructure, staff training, inclusive access, and close alignment between hospital and primary-care pathways.

This agenda aligns closely with the NHS’s 2025/26 operational guidance, which narrows priorities to focus on access, productivity, and financial sustainability. The guidance positions digital transformation not as a side project but as a core lever for improving patient flow, elective recovery, and workforce productivity.

The challenge for primary care isn’t whether digital care will expand, it’s how to make it equitable, safe, and personal. By planning virtual services around real patient needs, maintaining multiple access routes, and keeping safety at the heart of design, practices can turn digital reform into meaningful, lasting improvement.