NHS App users now more than twice the number of Netflix subscribers

The total number of monthly logins has increased by 54 per cent in a year; pensioners are the most active users of the NHS App  

The NHS App has 33.6 million registered users, which is more than double the number of Netflix’s subscribers (16.7 million), new figures from the health service showed.

Monthly traffic to the app has increased by more than half in the past year, from 16.8 million in November 2022 to 25.8 million in November 2023, which equals to 10 logins a second.

NHS data also showed that pensioners are the most active users of the app, which has 3.6 million registered users aged over 66 years.

Nearly two-thirds (62 per cent) of pensioners, including over 256,400 users in their 80s and almost 17,100 aged 90 and over, have accessed the app within the past three months.

Health Secretary Victoria Atkins said that the fact that the app has now been downloaded by three in four adults across the country is a “testament to just how vital it is”.

“Millions of people are getting quicker access to care and treatment through the app. I want even more patients to be able to benefit from this kind of innovation and from new features as they are introduced – I urge anyone who hasn’t yet downloaded the app to do so,” she added.

Additionally, the number of appointments viewed or managed through the NHS app has more than doubled in a year, from 1.95 million in November 2022 to 4.1 million in November 2023.

Last month, there were 10.7 million views of patient records in the app, compared to 5.8 million in the same period last year.

A total of 3.2 million repeat prescriptions ordered through the app in November 2023, up by almost half from 2.2 million in November 2022.

The introduction of new services such as vaccine bookings has resulted in a greater number of adults over 50s signing up for the NHS App, a six per cent increase in the last three months.

NHS Chief Executive, Amanda Pritchard said: “The NHS App started small five years ago but, with a significant amount of hard work behind the scenes, it is now helping millions of patients across the country – whether it’s booking an appointment, sorting a prescription, or checking your records.

NHS chiefs are also encouraging patients across England to use the app to order repeat prescriptions, particularly ahead of the New Year holiday.