Ministers and health service leaders claim that new digital ‘ping and book’ initiative could save thousands of women’s lives, as well as tens of millions of pounds of public money

The health service believes that “thousands of women’s lives” could be saved via a new initiative to use the NHS App to notify patients about opportunities to book cancer screenings.

From next month, the app – which has more than 34 million registered users – will be used to send notifications to those eligible to attend breast screenings. From spring of next year, invitations for cervical screening will also be issued and, beginning in early 2026, patients will be able to book the appointments directly via the app.

After notifications are issued by the app, a follow-up email or text message will be sent if the recipient has not yet booked an appointment.

As well as the lives that could be saved by encouraging woman to access screening services, the health service said the initiative could also help save some of the annual total of £14.7m spent each year on sending 25 million invitations via post.

Related content

• Ministers pledge unified patient record in NHS App as part of 10-year journey from ‘analogue to digital’
• Labour’s NHS plan promises ‘tech entrepreneurs and AI in every hospital’
• Mental-health services to be added to NHS App as part of digital expansion

NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard said: “We’re making massive strides with the NHS App, with patients getting more information, convenience and control over their own care, while helping us to work more productively too. We are really excited by the potential of technology to revolutionise access to cancer screening for women and help ensure everyone eligible can make the most of these life-saving services at the touch of a button. Next month we’re starting the rollout of a new ‘ping and book’ approach for breast and cervical checks through the NHS App, which will replace costs of letters and text messages with pop-ups on your phone and help make it as convenient as possible to book appointments.”

Screening detected 18,942 cases of breast cancer last year but, according to the NHS, 35.4% of those contacted in 2022/23 did not respond to an invitation to book. There are currently a total of 2.18 million eligible women across England who have not had a mammogram in the past three years.

As well as reaching more of these women, a wider digital transformation of screening services is intended to save £130m over the next five years.

Health and social care secretary Wes Streeting said: “As a cancer survivor, I know how devastating a diagnosis can be – and how important it is to get the right diagnosis and treatment as quickly as possible. If we’re going to make the NHS fit for the future, we need to catch cancers earlier so that we can give people the best possible chance of survival. I hugely welcome plans to make it easier for millions of women to book a screening by harnessing the power of the NHS App. This is a great example of shifting the NHS from analogue to digital and the benefits of a modern health service, which this government will deliver as part of our 10 Year Health Plan.”