UK health service gets £20m online boost

NEWS The UK government has promised to spend £20m on an automated patient booking system, after hailing the success of a pilot version of the scheme. The government said the National Booked Admissions Programme, set up last autumn with £5m, has done so well that it will add 50 more projects to the 24 pilot schemes already up and running. The scheme lets doctors and consultants book their patients straight into hospital schedules, giving patients more choice and a quicker service. Currently, many doctors arrange hospital appointments by post. The new round of pilot projects will include eight cancer centres, where an integrated system will let patients book every stage of diagnosis and treatment. The NHS also hopes to explore telemedicine, which provides visual connections between GPs and patients in their homes.