The Scottish Government has today confirmed that £12 million will be invested in a ‘health and social care app’ that will be introduced in its initial form at the end of this year.
Ministers announced that there will be a published national rollout timetable for a ‘personalised digital health and social care service’ – previously referred to as the ‘digital front door’ – ahead of the next Holyrood election in May 2026. The app will be released ‘progressively’ across the country, officials said.
The new Programme for Government – unveiled ahead of the usual September timetable, officially kicking off pre-election campaigning – contained a raft of digital health-focused measures.
They included digitally-enabled psychological interventions and therapies – building capacity for NHS 24’s mental health hub by December, as well as a new national digital dermatology pathway, which should be available to GPs by spring 2025.
Additionally, a new national digital intensive weight management programme will support 3,000 patients newly diagnosed with type II diabetes over the next three years, with the first patients recruited in January 2026.
First Minister John Swinney used today’s programme for government to announce further funding for the under-strain NHS to deliver 100,000 extra GP appointments by March 2026 – and help people avoid the ‘8am lottery’.
The appointments will benefit those with key risk factors including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, obesity and smoking. There will also be 150,000 extra appointments and procedures, including surgeries and diagnostic tests, and target cancer pathways to tackle backlogs against the 62-day referral to treatment standard.
Amid other measures to give Scotland a ‘best in UK’ cost of living guarantee, and scrapping peak rail fares, the First Minister said: “This Programme for Government is focused on providing the best cost-of-living support across the UK, as well as delivering a renewed and stronger NHS.
“When I became First Minister a year ago, I heard loud and clear people’s concerns about the NHS which is why I am taking serious action to ensure the NHS meets the needs of the public.
“This PfG also shows decisive action to protect Scotland’s economy and maximise our economic potential in the face of global challenges.”
He added: “ “It is being published earlier than usual, in part because it allows a clear year of delivery on the NHS and other public services, but also due to the scale of the looming economic challenge.
“It is a programme for a better Scotland, for a stronger NHS and a more resilient and wealthier Scotland. It is a Programme for Government that gets our nation on track for success.”
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: “After nearly two decades in power, if the SNP had any ideas they would have delivered them by now. The party and the man who created this mess can’t be the ones to fix it.
“The SNP has no plan to fix our broken NHS, no plan to raise standards in our schools and no plan to end the scourge of 10,000 children left in temporary accommodation.
“The next Scottish Parliament election is all about delivering the new direction that Scotland needs.“
Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said: “This flimsy Programme for Government is just more of the same from the SNP and will do little to restore public trust. No wonder that so many of their MSPs couldn’t be bothered to turn up to hear it.
“John Swinney is the politician who has failed to deliver for the past 18 years, the politician who has wasted more public money than anyone else, the politician who is now desperately trying to clear up his own mess.
“John Swinney can’t possibly be the solution because he has caused the problems.
“My party has long campaigned for greater spending on GPs, who are on the frontline of the NHS.
“John Swinney has today promised to increase GP numbers. But this same promise was made by the SNP eight years ago – and it has not been kept. That’s why no one will believe him this time.“
