Scotland's NHS app to launch from April 2026, Government says

The new Scottish NHS and social care app will be launched to everyone across the country from April 2026, the Government has said.

However, the full rollout, which includes digital appointments and communications, will not be completed until the end of the decade to complete

When it is fully functioning, the Scottish Government said the app will transform how people access and interact with health and social care services.

From next year, Scottish residents will be provided with a digital identity and will be able to view appointments and communicate digitally with services.

They will also be able to find services and view some personal information.

The Government said the extended multi-year app rollout will start with secondary, hospital-based care and move on to other parts of health and social care systems, including GP practices, pharmacy, social work and social care by 2030.

Health secretary Neil Gray said the app will be “the single biggest digital innovation in Scotland’s health and social care system”.

“[It] will revolutionise how people manage and receive their healthcare,” Gray said.

“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 people’s 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.”

However, the Scottish Conservatives have criticised the SNP Government for delivering a “half-baked version” after “years of promising an NHS app”.

“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,” shadow health secretary Dr Sandesh Gulhane said.

“Patients south of the border have been able to use an app for years. Yet in SNP-run Scotlan,d we are still living in the analogue age while everyone else has moved onto digital.”

Gulhane added: “SNP ministers must be clear about exactly how this app will be rolled out, instead of trying to rush it out in time for the Holyrood election.”

Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said that “by the time this app is finally rolled out in full, the technology will already be obsolete”.

She said: “The SNP has had two decades to modernise our NHS but we still have doctors relying on pagers, GPs using fax machines and an app that only works for one service in one health board.”