Every year, the NHS in England delivers roughly 120 million outpatient appointments. Two thirds of them are follow-ups. And, according to the chair of NHS England, almost nobody in the system believes this is a sensible way to spend clinical time, patient time or public money. Speaking at the King's Fund last week, one year on from the publication of the 10 Year Health Plan, Penny Dash made a remark that will resonate with anyone who has spent time in health policy circles. A

The deployment of virtual wards within the British National Health Service (NHS) has transitioned from a localised pandemic response into a central pillar of national healthcare architecture. This shift is codified in the government’s ten-year health plan for England, "Fit for the Future," which establishes a clear clinical hierarchy: care must occur locally, digitally by default, in a patient’s home if possible, in a neighbourhood health centre when needed and in a physical