Vaccine Status Drives Over One Million New Users To NHS App
Over 1.3 million new people have registered to use the NHS App since the addition of COVID-19 vaccine status was announced on 7 May.
The app, which now has over 4.8 million registered users, is one of the first internationally compliant systems to demonstrate vaccine status in the world. The COVID-19 vaccine status service allows users to easily show their proof of vaccine if required for international travel, and has been designed in line with World Health Organisation (WHO) interim guidance.
As well as accessing COVID-19 vaccine status, people can use a wide range of personalised services including GP appointment booking, ordering repeat prescriptions and viewing GP and hospital records.
Since Monday 17 May, people have logged into the NHS App more than 4 million times. The boost in downloads will have life-saving benefits as over 11,483 additional people registered their preference for organ donation via the NHS App in just 4 days.
People are also accessing services more easily with nearly 90,000 people since Monday using the app to order repeat prescriptions, saving clinicians and patients valuable time.
Health and Social Care Secretary, Matt Hancock, said:
“The strides in technology and innovation we’ve made throughout the pandemic are having real consequences beyond fighting this virus – they’re making treatment, diagnosis and care better for patients.
“I want to thank all my colleagues at NHSX and NHS Digital who helped us to deliver the COVID -19 vaccine status service so quickly. The pace we’ve brought this to fruition is unparalleled and it is bringing immediate benefits to our wider health service. I encourage everyone to download the NHS app, it will help you access a host of services.”
For anyone in England who has had two doses of any approved vaccine and does not use the app or are unable to access digital services, they can call 119 and request a letter. The first 20,000 letters were delivered across England on Saturday.
Minister for Innovation, Lord Bethell, said:
“It’s great to see so many more people using the NHS app – it allows people to easily access their COVID-19 vaccine status, as well as easier access to NHS services.”
“It’s prime example of how technology is making the health service faster and easier to use”
Matthew Gould, Chief Executive of NHSX, said:
“This has been stood up in a matter of weeks, by a team working every hour to ensure we delivered a user-friendly service on time.
“We are really pleased with how it’s been received, and even more pleased to see it get so many people using the online services of the NHS”
Between 17 May and 20 May:
- 11,483 users registered an organ donation preference via the NHS App, a daily average of 2,870. This is almost ten times the number of new registrations in April of around 300 per day.
- 89,422 prescriptions were ordered via the NHS App, a daily average of 22,355. In April the daily average of prescriptions ordered was around 13,000.
- 8,091 appointments were booked via the NHS App, a daily average of 2,002. This is double the daily average of appointments booked in April of around 1,000.