The NHS App has surpassed the 22 million user mark after a boost from the decision to select it for Covid vaccination passports.

As the country began to slowly open after the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the use of the NHS app increased as people looked to find out information about the virus, maintain their health during the country-wide lockdowns and access Covid passports.

More than 18 million registrations were seen since the introduction of the NHS Covid Pass last May.

Around 140 million Covid Passes have been generated through the NHS App and NHS website since the service was added.

The pass is used for sharing Covid-19 vaccination records or test results when travelling abroad or for certain events and venues domestically.

In Scotland, a version of the Covid pass app was also released that allowed Scottish residents to access events and venues across the country.

Additionally, this latest milestone of the NHS App follows an agreement in November last year to enable EU member states to digitally verify the NHS Covid Pass.

The UK Government said the initiative will simplify access by UK citizens to venues such as museums, restaurants and other locations requiring proof of vaccination against Covid-19 in countries across the EU.

Commenting on the success of the app, Simon Bolton, interim chief executive at NHS Digital said: “The NHS App has played a central role in the fight against Covid-19, helping to enable international travel and access to major events.

“It has also changed the way millions of adults in England access healthcare services in the three years since its launch.”

Matthew Gould, Chief Executive of NHSX, added: “We developed the NHS Covid Pass at extraordinary speed, and have kept updating it to meet the changing needs of the country as we deal with the pandemic.

“It is now an important tool in keeping people safe in the face of the Omicron variant.”

Recommended

• Say goodbye to BlackBerry phones as services are switched off
• Fresh investment to fuel growth at Edinburgh’s Quorum Cyber
• IFB announces new partnership with Brightsolid and £500k investment

The NHS app was launched in England in December 2018, way before the impact of the pandemic, to give people a “simple and secure way” to access NHS services on phones and tablets.

So far, a total of 1.1 million GP appointments have been booked through the tool, of which 641,000 were booked in the last six months of 2021.

In addition, stats have shown that around 10.4m repeat prescriptions have been ordered since the app was launched, with 6.2m of those processed by the app in the past six months.

According to NHS Digital, the past six months have seen more than 170,000 registrations recorded through the app, compared with 1.5 million registrations by September 2021.

NHS Digital have stated that their tool is currently the most downloaded free iPhone app in the UK.

App technology has become a useful tool and a lifeline for many during the pandemic and has helped governments in the UK to track the spread of the virus.

In September last year, NHS Scotland released Protect Scotland, a free test and trace mobile app designed to reduce the spread of coronavirus and avoid further lockdowns.

There were concerns at the time around the collection and protection of user data, with privacy rights campaigners warning that the app must be shown to respect user privacy if it is to be fully embraced by the public.

NHS Scotland said it was taking steps to ensure that the app’s users remain anonymous, and to promote that feature.

Get the latest news from DIGIT direct to your inbox

Our newsletter covers the latest technology and IT news from Scotland and beyond, as well as in-depth features and exclusive interviews with leading figures and rising stars.

We will keep you up to date on the pivotal issues impacting the sector and let you know about key upcoming events to ensure that you don’t miss out on what’s going on across the Scottish tech community.

Click here to subscribe.