The long-delayed NHS Scotland app that will launch this year for only one type of patient

Scotland’s NHS app is set to launch later this year with access only for dermatology patients, it has been reported.

The release date for the long-awaited app that was first promised at the height of the Covid pandemic in 2021 was brought forward in an announcement by First Minister John Swinney.

A NHS Scotland worker with a mask during Covid. Picture: Jane Barlow | Jane Barlow

However, The Times reports the app has been scaled back for the launch to a “more limited scope … than originally envisaged”, as an internal review found there were still “significant issues” with the technology’s delivery.

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The app has previously been branded a “national embarrassment” by Dr Iain Morrison, chairman of BMA Scotland’s GP committee. The app was originally due to go live in March next year, but the launch date was then brought forward by four months.

The review into the app was carried out by a Scottish Government team in March, with the findings released following a Freedom of Information request.

Details of the review show the change to the launch date had caused confusion. One document said those running the project would have to “re-plan significantly to accommodate the accelerated timeline”. This meant the app would only cover a “small set of services for one specialty”, the document said.

Social media app WhatsApp, displayed on a mobile phone screen. A watchdog has reprimanded a health board after staff members shared patients’ personal data on WhatsApp hundreds of times. Picture: Yui Mok/PA Wire

A separate project document produced by the NHS had said expectations around the app would need to be “carefully managed”. “There is a risk that the initial offering may be underwhelming,” the document added.

Health Secretary Neil Gray had confirmed earlier this month the launch of the NHS Scotland app would be restricted to dermatology.

Sandesh Gulhane, the Scottish Conservative health spokesman, said: “This internal review confirms the chaos, delays and mind-boggling expense caused by the SNP’s mismanagement of Scotland’s NHS.

“Suffering patients and dedicated NHS staff deserve better than this SNP Government whose failures are taking away valuable millions from frontline healthcare.”

A Scottish Government spokesman told The Times: “The health and social care app is on course to launch initially in Lanarkshire in 2025.

“Like any digital service, good practice means the initial version will be tested thoroughly prior to wider rollout. This will begin with a limited number of services, which will then be extended and expanded across Scotland.”