“Ahead of Wednesday’s pre-Budget report, the PM said “efficiency savings” would help to save £12bn over four years – £3bn more than planned in the Budget.”

“This culture of excess must change and will change.”

He added that the government would use technological advances to make services more user-friendly and cheaper.

As an example, sending text messages to remind patients about GP appointments could help save up to £600m a year wasted on missed visits.

Read this report noticing the part healthcare technology can play here

Two companies offering solutions for this are Felltech and their Outbox SMS and iPlato with their GP messaging service

The technology is there and ready it is just down to the NHS to implement it.