NHS to increase efficiency with IT

The NHS is to increase efficiency by changing the way that patients access healthcare.

Under new proposals, patients will have to sign up for a free ID, then use that to login to a secure NHS website and put their mobile number in, so they can receive a text with a secret code. This code can then be quoted to a robot that they call on an NHS hotline, which will allow them to choose from a menu of symptoms by pressing the phone buttons.

The answers will then be posted under a secure login on another NHS website, which will require an email account so that they can receive updates about the service. Then their answers to the multi-choice questions can be accessed by the free ID login to enable the booking of a phone consultation with a robot healthcare assistant.

'But the good news is that its still a free service,' said a government insider.