NHS Scotland is 'digital desert' claims surgeon turned MP

SUNDAY MAIL EXCLUSIVE: Zubir Ahmed wants a smartphone app for booking appointments and getting test results like one available in England

The Scottish NHS is a “digital desert” compared with England where patients can book appointments and view records on an app, a surgeon-turned-MP has said.

Zubir Ahmed, who won the Glasgow South West seat for Labour in July, claims technological advances are not being exploited despite Scottish firms ­developing pioneering software.

He said: “There is no ­diagnosis, no direction and no appetite for the much-needed reform to make our NHS match fit for the needs of modern ­Scotland from the SNP.

“While we have a long way to go down the road from analogue to digital healthcare, it is clear to those of us who have worked both in NHS England and ­Scotland that as far as the patient is concerned, ­Scotland is a digital desert.

“There is no NHS patient app, no ­possibility to interact with patient records on a routine basis and an almost complete ­reliance on snail mail for hospital ­appointments.

“This is despite the wealth of technological knowhow that exists in Scotland and in my ­constituency of Glasgow South West. The real tragedy is that this expertise is being more often used by English NHS trusts than Scottish health boards.”

Anyone aged 13 or over and registered with a GP practice in England can have an NHS account and the NHS App. It allows access to services such as booking appointments, viewing test results, and inquiring about wait times. ­

Scottish Labour deputy leader and health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said: “There are cutting edge technology businesses in Scotland being used at scale in NHS England that barely get a look in with the Scottish NHS.

“The obvious example is the NHS App available in England which puts patients in control of their own medical records, booking appointments etc.

“The problem is the Scottish Government have been slow to exploit the potential that this tech has to make the NHS more productive, and the outcome is that it is easier and more ­productive for staff and they get better outcomes for patients.

“It is a no-brainer we should be doing this.” Labour has accused the SNP of fostering a “two-tier health system” in
Scotland, after data showed a surge in private healthcare.

Huge waiting times meant around a third of all hip and knee replacements were carried out in private facilities last year.

Almost 36,000 Scots patients have dropped NHS dentist services for private dental care.

The Scottish Government said it has announced “a programme of digital reform and emphasised the critical role technology and innovation will play in ­accelerating and enriching health and social care reforms, empowering people, liberating clinicians, driving efficiency, and preventing ill-health”.

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