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The NHS App Survey Results
Over the last six weeks we have been asking patients about their awareness and use of the NHS App. Below are the findings of the survey and what we are planning to do based on the feedback.
Overview
- 1,312 responses were analysed.
- For “Are you aware of the NHS App?”, 95.4% answered Yes.
- For “Have you ever used the NHS App?”, 48.5% use it regularly, 37.0% occasionally and 14.5% have never used it.
- For “Would you like in-house support at the practice to help you use the NHS App?”, 7.4% answered Yes and 18.1% Maybe — 25.5% are therefore potentially receptive to support.
- The response base skews older: 44.1% are aged 55–74 and 23.3% are 75+.
Findings Behind the Data
Awareness of the NHS App is already very high, so the strongest opportunity is not broad awareness-building but targeted help converting non-users and less-confident patients into effective users. The clearest group is patients aged 75+: they have lower awareness and much higher non-use, and are also the most receptive to practice support. Knowledge of NHS App functionality is uneven, particularly around online consultations and referrals.
Older patients are the clearest support priority
For “What age group are you in?” versus “Are you aware of the NHS App?”, awareness remains high but falls to 89.5% among 75+ patients, compared with 96.9–98.7% across the younger groups.
The age difference is stronger for “Have you ever used the NHS App?”: 24.5% of 75+ respondents have never used it, compared with 7.9% of 18–34s, 9.4% of 35–54s, and 13.1% of 55–74s.
That aligns with demand for assistance. For “Would you like in-house support at the practice to help you use the NHS App?”, 13.7% of 75+ patients said Yes and another 25.5% said Maybe. By comparison, only 2.6% of 18–34s said Yes.
Non-users are substantially more receptive to help
Among respondents who answered No to “Have you ever used the NHS App?”, 17.9% definitely want in-house help and 37.4% say Maybe.
Among regular users, only 3.5% want support and 11.8% say Maybe.
Similarly, among the patients answering No to “Are you aware of the NHS App?”, 23.0% want support and 45.9% say Maybe. This makes non-users and unaware patients a much stronger target than the whole patient population.
Patients know the core functions better than some useful extras
For “What features do you think the NHS App provides?”, respondents most commonly recognised:
- Ordering repeat prescriptions — 73.2%
- Viewing test results — 70.4%
- Viewing medical records — 69.4%
- Booking GP appointments — 69.1%
Recognition was much lower for:
- Finding health advice — 35.0%
- See referrals — 32.9%
- Submit an online consultation — 26.3%
That suggests future communications could focus less on simply saying the NHS App exists and more on demonstrating the functions patients may not realise are available.
What patients say they need help with
There were 335 non-empty answers to “If you would like support, what kind of help would be most useful?”. The comments point to several practical needs; theme counts below are keyword-based and can overlap.
- Appointments / booking / access — 52 comments. A recurring concern is whether the App actually makes access to care easier.
- Referrals / records / results / prescriptions — 49 comments. Patients want clarity about what they can actually accomplish through the App, especially around referrals and records.
- Login / technical access problems — 36 comments. Patients mention getting into the App, passwords and knowing how to access it. One wrote: “Explain how to access the app and how it works”.
- Getting started / general guidance — 28 comments. Some want a basic walkthrough or user guide. One respondent said: “Probably easier for me to watch a video explaining features, but I can imagine others might like in person guidance.”
- In-person / accessible support — 12 comments. A smaller but important group explicitly mention face-to-face help, written instructions or digital-literacy/accessibility needs.
Actionable Recommendations
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Target support rather than offering it uniformly. Prioritise patients who have never used the App, particularly those aged 75+, because these groups show the clearest combination of non-use and willingness to receive help.
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Make support task-based. A short session or guide should cover getting started/logging in, appointments, prescriptions, records/results and referrals rather than providing a generic technology lesson.
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Shift communications from “Do you know about the NHS App?” to “Do you know what you can do with it?” Awareness is already 95.4%, while recognition of online consultations is only 26.3% and referrals 32.9%.
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Offer more than one support format. The free-text responses support a combination of concise written guidance/video for self-service patients and optional in-person help for people with lower digital confidence.
Planned Outcomes
Based on the analysis of the data the practice will be looking to overhaul our communications and guidance for the NHS App. We will also look at providing a more structured way of providing help to those who are either having issues setting up the app or would like more user friendly help on maximising the use of the app. We are planning to have fully implemented some if not all of the recomendations by the end of January 2027.