NATS chiefs are spending £17million on a troubled NHS app which will not launch until 2026 — three years late, the Scottish Sun can reveal.
Data from the Scottish Government shows £5.6million has already been spent on the tech – with a further £12million being pledged for this financial year.
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First Minister John Swinney visiting the Forth Valley Hospital after the budgetCredit: PA
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The NHS app for England has been available since 2019Credit: PA
The app is set to roll out in Lanarkshire this year before being extended to other parts of Scotland, ministers have insisted.
But Scottish Tory MSP Stephen Kerr, whose parliamentary question revealed the figures, said the cash spent “sums up the SNP’s gross mismanagement of Scotland’s NHS.”
He added: “They are squandering millions of taxpayers’ money on an app that should have been up and running for patients two years ago.
“John Swinney and other SNP ministers are blowing cash as they have no idea how this will even operate.
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“Suffering patients and dedicated NHS staff deserve better than this SNP government whose failures are taking away valuable millions away from frontline healthcare.”
The app was initially planned to be rolled out in 2023.
Named the “digital front door” by civil servants, it was promoted by John Swinney as part of his plan to turn around Scotland’s ailing health service in January.
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But the First Minister could not tell Scots what it would actually do and whether people would be able to book GP appointments, get prescriptions, or organise blood tests.
In March, Health secretary Neil Gray claimed the app would “revolutionise” patient interaction with the health service but refused to put a deadline for its launch.
He said: “We know that we’ve got work to do in order to get this up and running. That’s why we’ve got the test happening in Lanarkshire in December and then we want to roll out as fast as possible thereafter.
“There’s no firm date at this stage [for a national rollout] not least because I don’t want to give a date that becomes an artificial endpoint. I want to move as fast as possible.”
Civil servants have insisted the Scottish app will be better than its equivalent in England, which has been available since 2019.
They have said NHS Scotland’s app “goes beyond an NHS App as it will also cover social care.”
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Under-fire health secretary Neil Gray could not give a date for the app’s launch in MarchCredit: Alamy
A “digital” strategy document for the Scottish Government said the development of the app was “on track” for March 2026.
It added Scots should be able to “interact with a range of different services across health and social care both online and via mobile applications”.
The app’s troubles come after Nats ministers wasted £7million on the glitch-heavy and now defunct “Covid status” app which showed proof of vaccination during the pandemic.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “The NHS app rollout is a key investment which will give patients access to essential care and information, while staff will benefit from streamlined operations, enhancing efficiency across the NHS.”