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Patients will be able to view test results and track appointments in the NHS Wales app as part of a major expansion announced by the Welsh Government.<\/p>\n
Sarah Murphy, who is responsible for digital transformation in the NHS, outlined forthcoming features such as waiting list tracking \u2013 with plans to add test results in 2026.<\/p>\n
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In a statement on September 30, the mental health minister set out her ambition of making the NHS Wales app the \u201cdigital front door\u201d for patients.<\/p>\n
Ms Murphy told Senedd members: \u201cThis is a useful and powerful platform with a huge potential to change the way we all use and interact with our health service. It represents a fundamental shift in how we empower people to engage with their health care.\u201d<\/p>\n
She described the NHS Wales app as \u201cperfectly placed to evolve into the digital front door to the NHS capable of directing us to the right service for our needs\u201d.<\/p>\n
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\u2018Roadmap\u2019<\/p>\n
Ms Murphy told the Senedd that use of the app is steadily growing, with more than half a million downloads \u2013 equivalent to one in five adults in Wales \u2013 since its launch in 2023.<\/p>\n
She highlighted that nearly two-and-a-half million repeat prescriptions have been ordered through the app and 2,000 people have registered their wishes on organ donation.<\/p>\n
The minister said updates this autumn will build on a pilot in west Wales, which saw details of waiting lists for general surgery and appointment messages shared through the app.<\/p>\n
She explained additional features \u2013 such as proxy access for carers, nominating a pharmacy for prescriptions and hospital appointment tracking \u2013 will soon be rolled out.<\/p>\n
The mental health minister said the roadmap includes adding test results, and the ability for patients to provide feedback on their experiences, from spring 2026.<\/p>\n
Warning of the complexities involved, she stated much depends on streamlining processes and improving data integrity elsewhere in the NHS to ensure seamless patient experiences.<\/p>\n
\u2018Significant strides\u2019<\/p>\n
Ms Murphy said future priorities for the NHS Wales app also include bilingual design, making all waiting lists visible and integrating with commercial platforms.<\/p>\n
On equity and inclusivity, she explained that even people without a photo ID can access the app which is available to everyone aged 16 and over who is registered with a GP in Wales.<\/p>\n
Recognising \u201csignificant strides\u201d across the border, she told the Senedd: \u201cThis isn\u2019t a race between two countries, this is an opportunity to learn from one another. Our ambition is to match the functionality of the English app and then to go further.\u201d<\/p>\n
James Evans, the Tories\u2019 shadow health secretary, criticised the Welsh Government\u2019s \u201cfrustrating and, frankly, sometimes disappointing\u201d handling of the NHS Wales app.<\/p>\n
He told the debating chamber: \u201cWhen the NHS Wales app launched\u2026 in April 2023, the NHS app in England had already been available\u2026 for nearly nine years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Evans warned patients across Wales remain unable to do \u201cbasic things\u201d such as check hospital appointments, see their place on waiting lists or receive their tests.<\/p>\n
\u2018Catch up\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cEnglish patients already take this for granted so we need to move faster,\u201d he said, calling for assurances for older people and those who have poor digital connectivity in rural Wales.<\/p>\n
Ms Murphy replied: \u201cEven though we started later \u2013 we did \u2013 than England, I feel that in the next 12 months we\u2019re going to really, really catch up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Plaid Cymru\u2019s Mabon ap Gwynfor warned of \u201cprevious little progress\u201d as he argued the Welsh Government has not given digitising the NHS enough attention.<\/p>\n
The shadow health secretary said: \u201cThe truth is that far too many of our health services continue to rely on 20th-century systems, be it paperwork or technology like the fax.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Murphy responded: \u201cIt\u2019s about everybody being on the same page\u2026. I feel confident now that we are making that progress, that we are all pulling in the same direction.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elin Jones, the Senedd\u2019s speaker or Llywydd, joked that she managed to order her own repeat prescription through the app after receiving a security code during the statement.<\/p>\n
By Chris Haines, ICNN Senedd reporter<\/p>\n