Care in the Digital Age: delivery plan 2025 to 2026
Update for 2025 to 2026 to the national digital health and care strategy's delivery plan which describes activities supporting Health Boards, HSCPs, local authorities, primary care, social care, social work, and care providers to offer new or improved services.
Digital Services
Digital options are increasingly available as a choice for people accessing services and staff delivering them.
What we will deliver:
Scale up and adoption of the Connect Me remote health monitoring and self-management service.
Why we are doing this:
Enable people to take more control of their conditions Improve access to services.
Improve outcomes for citizens using more advanced technology. Reduce face to face appointments and clinics, freeing up clinician time.
Connect Me has supported over 113,000 people, available through 50% of GP practices, and is now being developed to support additional pathways. NSS has been commissioned to explore options and deliver the service going forward.
Who is leading this work:
- Scottish Government Digital Health and Care
- Scottish Government Primary Care
- NHS National Services Scotland (NSS)
- Health Boards
When it will be delivered and progress:
- Completed
- Now established as Business As Usual
What we will deliver:
Support the adoption and expansion of Digital Hospital @ HomeWhy we are doing this:
Reduce length of stay in hospital by supporting early discharge to a Hospital @ Home service. Deliver the right care in the right place, supporting people in their own location as per long-term strategies. Reduce face to face appointments and clinics, enabling people to take more control of their conditions and freeing up clinician time. By reducing clinician travel, improving the efficiency of services via the use of appropriate remote and mobile working solutions, and introducing remote monitoring.
Successfully implemented as a deliverable for 2024-25 with Hospital at Home pathways in every territorial NHS health board and 555 virtual beds for the older people’s pathway. The Programme for Government 2025-26 and Operational Improvement Plan (OIP) confirm an increase in Hospital @ Home virtual beds to a total of 2,000. The OIP further confirms we will work with partners to establish pathways providing direct referrals from the ambulance service, flow navigation centres, emergency departments, and frailty units by March 2026.
Who is leading this work:
- COSLA Scottish Government Digital Health and Care
- In partnership with: NHS Health Boards HSCPs
When it will be delivered and progress:
- Completed
- Operational Improvement Plan commitment by March 2026
What we will deliver:
Development of Digital Mental Health therapies, including self-referral and expansion of mental wellbeing resources.Why we are doing this:
Improve accessibility and access to evidence based psychological treatments through the expansion of online mental wellbeing resources and tools.
Enable people to access services round the clock, reducing waiting times.
Offer an alternative route for those who do not feel comfortable with a face-to-face session, or who may need support out of hours.
Promote the development and testing of new and emerging technologies focused on improving the mental health and wellbeing of individuals across Scotland.
There are 35 digital therapeutic treatments available across all NHS Health Boards, with 74,000 referrals in the past year, including self-referrals. Work is under way to establish digital therapy services in prisons and in higher education.
Who is leading this work:
- Scottish Government Mental Health Directorate
- Scottish Government Digital Health and Care
- NHS Health Boards
When it will be delivered and progress:
CompletedWhat we will deliver:
Scale up and embed Near Me video consultation service with Health and Care service delivery
Why we are doing this:
Improve access and choice. Increase resilience in health and social care services.
Support group treatment programmes in mental health, educational type interventions and explore the use of group clinical consultations.
Support the reduction in waiting times as part of the NHS Recovery plan. Reduce staff and citizen travel to reduce climate impact.
Help prevent unavoidable hospital admissions. Enable professionals working in social care to use Near Me when care and support planning. Support more people to access care at home
In use across all NHS Health Boards, delivered through over 100 participating organisations and increasingly embedded in community settings. Near Me has delivered 325,000 online consultations in the past year including 9,500 group consultations – a total of 2.5 million to date. A total of 103 million travel miles have been saved. Work is ongoing to roll out in social work, social care, and in prisons to provide support prior to release.
Who is leading this work:
- COSLA
- NHS Health Boards
- HSCPs
- LGDO
- Social Work Scotland
- Social Security Scotland
When it will be delivered and progress:
Ongoing
What we will deliver:
New digital products and solutions within social care.
Why we are doing this:
Support national priorities for Proactive and Preventative Care, NHS Recovery and the Healthcare Framework for Care Homes.
Delivery partners in social care now lead this work and report monthly on progress. Several programmes are under way, such as Scottish Care’s work on the role of the Care Technologist; Social Work Scotland’s work on embedding Near Me in prisons; and local authority trials of AI in social work note-taking.
Who is leading this work:
- COSLA
- Scottish Government Digital Health and Care
- HSCPs
- LGDO
- Care Inspectorate
- Social Work Scotland Scottish Care Coalition of Care and Support Providers in Scotland (CCPS)
- All Local Boards
When it will be delivered and progress:
Ongoing
What we will deliver:
A programme of Clinical IT improvements in Scotland’s Prisons including roll-out of clinical portal.
Why we are doing this:
Support prescribing and medicines administration in Scotland’s prisons removing many manual processes which take time away from delivery of clinical care.
Improve features and functionality in the patient management system providing professionals with access to patient history at point of care. Support continuity of care.
Due for delivery by March 2025, this work has been delayed due to supplier issues. However, we have made progress with implementation of clinical portals in most of Scotland’s prisons.
Who is leading this work:
NSS
When it will be delivered and progress:
Delayed
Why we are doing this:
Patient Management System (PMS)
Hosting migration to Cloud Technology completed.
Who is leading this work:
NSS
When it will be delivered and progress:
Completed
Why we are doing this:
Vision version upgrades progressing to minimum criteria for Vision Anywhere.
Who is leading this work:
NSS
When it will be delivered and progress:
Ongoing
Why we are doing this:
Development of Prison-Ready Vision Anywhere delayed.
Who is leading this work:
NSS
When it will be delivered and progress:
Delayed
Why we are doing this:
Prescribing and Medicines Administration (PMA)
PMA Prototyping completed.
Who is leading this work:
NSS
When it will be delivered and progress:
Completed
Why we are doing this:
Development of full solution remains impacted by InPS administration process.
Who is leading this work:
NSS
When it will be delivered and progress:
Delayed
Why we are doing this:
Continuity of Care (CoC)
Business analysis of current processes for contractor services completed.
Who is leading this work:
NSS
When it will be delivered and progress:
Completed
Why we are doing this:
Clinical Portal Access for Prisons
Over 300 new accounts created, providing access to the North of Scotland Clinical Portal for healthcare providers working in Scottish Prisons.
Who is leading this work:
NSS
When it will be delivered and progress:
Completed
Why we are doing this:
This will be enhanced with access to prison Vision system healthcare information, once InPS administration resolved.
Who is leading this work:
NSS
When it will be delivered and progress:
Delayed
Why we are doing this:
Work progressing to enhance auditing capability of Clinical Portal solution, and extend links to other Health Board portals throughout Scotland.
Who is leading this work:
NSS
When it will be delivered and progress:
Ongoing
What we will deliver:
Refreshed technology to support the National Screening Programme.
Why we are doing this:
Existing legacy technology needs to be replaced and upgraded due to it being ‘end of life’.
Create efficiencies in the call / recall services associated with all screening services.
Due for delivery in March 2025, delayed due to funding constraints. Planning phase continues and some screening systems will now be developed within the discovery work of the wider National IT contract.
Who is leading this work:
NSS
When it will be delivered and progress:
Delayed
What we will deliver:
A new Digital Dermatology solution for receiving, storing and sharing dermatology images between primary and secondary care.
Why we are doing this:
Enable GPs and secondary care to share images and identify urgent cases that can be expedited to surgery.
Reduce the need for outpatient appointments.
Reduce the need for outpatient appointments. Contribute to the reduction of NHS waiting times.
Developed through the Accelerated National Innovation Adoption (ANIA) pathway, this programme was confirmed for national implementation by the First Minister in his Renewal statement of 27 January 2025. The service has been implemented across all NHS Health Boards as of April 2025 and will be progressively developed through the remainder of the year.
Who is leading this work:
- NHS Golden Jubilee
- Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD)
- NES
- NSS
When it will be delivered and progress:
Completed
Contact
Email: DHCPolicyHub@gov.scot