Long-delayed NHS app now available to download in Scotland
However, the MyCare app will not be fully developed until 2030
A long-awaited NHS app is now available to download onto smartphones in Scotland following years of “dither and delay”.
The first version of the free app will allow people to view their medications and allergies, check their vaccination history and use the national service finder to find local health services.
But critics pointed out it is almost a decade behind the launch of the NHS app in England in 2019.
The Scottish government said its app will continue to develop through to 2030, to enable users to check appointments, provide information about themselves and receive digital letters through MyCare.scot.
When fully delivered, it will provide the “most comprehensive” health and care app in the UK, the government said, integrating health and social care services into one space.
The app, which was initially due to be launched in 2023, has cost more than £17 million to develop.
Scottish Labour health spokesperson Jackie Baillie said: “It is welcome that progress is finally being made by the Scottish government in embracing new technology in our health service – however, this is almost a decade behind the launch of the NHS app in England.
“After years of dither and delay, SNP ministers are only now starting to catch up. Although, it is regrettable that patients in Scotland have to wait even longer before they are able to do basic things like book appointments and order prescriptions.
“This needs to be a top priority for the Scottish Government. The SNP’s failure to modernise our NHS has piled pressure on services and has made it harder for patients to access the care they need.
“They must be open to further embracing technology so that patients can feel the benefits. This means continuing to develop the app so that it has the full functionality currently available to patients in England, as well as upgrading the equipment that our NHS relies on.”
Scottish Conservative health spokesman Miles Briggs said: “The SNP have some brass neck patting themselves on the back in this announcement.
“The rest of the UK has had a fully functioning NHS app since 2020, yet the nationalists want praise for being years behind schedule.
“They chose not to sign up to a UK-wide app for nakedly political reasons and have failed to deliver on what they promised in their 2021 manifesto.
“Five years on, they’re now shamelessly spinning and expecting Scots to be grateful that a fully functioning app will be up and running by 2030.
“This app is another example of John Swinney’s government overpromising and underdelivering and they should stop parading their failures as some sort of achievement.”
Health Secretary Angela Constance said the launch of the app was “an important milestone in this government’s programme to give people a single, secure digital access point to their personal health information”.
She said: “I am clear that our NHS in Scotland will never be for sale. That is why the app has been developed within the public sector, protecting the privacy of patient medical records and ensuring best value for the taxpayer.
“Over time, MyCare.scot will make it easier to manage appointments, reduce the need for patients to retell their story, order prescriptions, and gain access to the information they need to help them stay well and supported. It will also be integrated with Scotland’s social care and social work system.”
MyCare.scot is available to people aged 18 and over in Scotland.
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