Scotland's NHS app to be rolled out across the country from April 2026 - but there's a catch
The NHS app was initially due to be launched in 2023.
A new NHS app will be made available to everyone in Scotland from spring next year, as SNP ministers were accused of delivering a “half-baked version” of what was originally promised.
Ministers said the move would “revolutionise how people manage and receive their healthcare” north of the Border.
However, the MyCare app, which was initially due to be launched in 2023, will not be fully rolled out until 2030.
The app will have an initial launch in Lanarkshire in December, targeted at dermatology outpatients, before being rolled out nationwide from April 2026.
The Government said users would be provided with a secure digital identity, access to some personal information and the national service finder from NHS inform.
Following initial roll-out, MyCare will be expanded to hospital-based services, before including other areas of the health and social care system, including GP practices, pharmacies, social work and social care.
Documents suggest only secondary care services “in some areas” will be available on the app from 2026, before further services become available the following year.
“This is expected to include digital appointments and communications,” the documents add, with “national priority services” in place from 2028.
The launch of the Scottish app comes years after a similar system south of the Border, with NHS England having had its app – which allows patients to book appointments, order prescriptions and see their medical records – since 2019.
SNP Health Secretary Neil Gray said: “MyCare.scot is the single biggest digital innovation in Scotland’s health and social care system and will revolutionise how people manage and receive their healthcare.
“The introduction of this app will be a landmark moment for Scotland and aligns with the commitments this Government has made to bringing down waiting lists, and making care more personal and closer to home.
“Our initial launch in NHS Lanarkshire will help us ensure the MyCare app is robust, safe, secure and meets peoples’ needs. I am delighted we will then see a population-wide rollout from April and we have today published a high-level summary rollout plan setting out our approach.
“We have worked closely with NHS Education for Scotland and key stakeholders to develop MyCare.scot, and I want to thank everyone who has worked hard to help us reach this stage and to ensure we deliver rollout of the app across the country from April.”
However, Scottish Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said: “After years of promising an NHS app, the SNP have still delivered a half-baked version.
“We have repeatedly called for this to be rolled out to support patients and staff, but instead the nationalists have been unable to do the basics and have squandered millions in the process.
“Patients south of the Border have been able to use an app for years. Yet in SNP-run Scotland, we are still living in the analogue age while everyone else has moved onto digital.”
Dr Gulhane added: “SNP ministers must be clear about exactly how this app will be rolled out, instead of trying to rush it out to time with the Holyrood election.”
Reform MSP Graham Simpson said: “It will be at least five years before we can book appointments and access our records. Scotland is lagging behind on this and it is not good enough.”
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