Scottish GPs running on decades-old IT systems, MSPs hear

GPs in Scotland are running on “exceedingly poor quality” IT systems, a parliamentary committee has heard.

Surgeries are using systems that are over 20 years old, making it “very hard” to have appropriate data capture in place, the Public Audit Committee was told.

Dr Iain Morrison, chair of the general practice committee at the BMA Scotland union, said: “We’re running on Internet Explorer 8 software, 2004 servers, we have multiple systems trying to speak to legacy systems.

“It’s very hard for the IT system to have robust data capture that can be reliable and easily interpretable.”

The infrastructure is not “fit for purpose”, Dr Chris Provan, chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners Scotland, told the committee, adding: “People talk about AI and other activities, which is really important. But GPs just want a computer that switches on in the morning.”

Scotland is also “way behind” England on health IT, Morrison continued.  He said: “England had digital prescribing since 2010 and we’re still looking at maybe 2030 now. We really are left behind.”

Earlier this year, Chris Black, deputy chair of the Scottish General Practitioners Committee, told Holyrood it is frustrating not to have access to technology that could make GP’s job easier, adding “there is a political to and fro about the NHS and the delivery of healthcare”.

Black also told Holyrood AI would not be a “panacea”, urging leaders to focus on getting the basics right first. He said: “We really need to focus our time and energy making sure that we can give a response when a patient needs us.”

Workers and experts have long highlighted the digital divide between NHS Scotland and its counterpart south of the border. For instance, the much-anticipated Scottish NHS app, known as the digital front door, is set to begin rollout across Lanarkshire by the end of this year, six years after the NHS England had its app operational.

Part of the reason for the delayed rollout north of the border is Scottish GPs not having a system similar to England’s Spine. The system acts as the backbone of English healthcare services, enabling quick access and exchange of patient information among healthcare professionals.

However, Claudia Pagliari, who chaired the evaluation group on the NHS England app, told Holyrood Scotland could’ve “hopped on board” with the English app, adding “elements of national pride” were behind the refusal to adopt it. 

She said: “We spend too long trying to make things just Scottish and I think that’s a problem. And it’s confusing, particularly for people that live on the borders or that move around. It also means that we can’t as easily build on the momentum that has been built in England amongst GPs and have a kind of imitation effect in Scotland.”