Scottish Government apologises for Covid app 'shambles'

The Scottish Government has issued an apology after the launch of its vaccine passport app was described as a “complete shambles”.

The NHS Scotland Covid Status app was available to download on Thursday evening, ahead of government plans to restrict entry to nightclubs and large events to people who have had two doses of a covid vaccine.

However, within hours of launch, social media was awash with complaints about the app – including problems with logging in and uploading pictures of identification.

Opposition parties have been quick to slate the Scottish Government’s roll out of the app, with Labour’s health spokesperson Jackie Baillie saying the launch has been ‘embarrassing’.

The Dumbarton MSP said: “The launch of the Covid status app has been a complete shambles.

“I have already been contacted by several constituents complaining that the app crashed on them.

“It is typical of the SNP to rush this out when it clearly doesn’t work.

“This is embarrassing for the Scottish Government, they need to get a grip and fix the app urgently.”

Scottish Conservative Leader Douglas Ross has also called for an ‘emergency stop’, and to pull the app altogether.

The Moray MSP said: “The SNP Government has just a few hours to act quickly and prevent a weekend of chaos at venues across Scotland.

“Thousands of people will be at the football and going out to hospitality premises this weekend. At an incredibly challenging time, businesses will lose out if this app is still not working.

“This plan should really be scrapped altogether but, if the SNP insist on charging ahead, they must indefinitely delay the vaccine passport scheme until the most basic issues are ironed out.

“Nicola Sturgeon must go back to the drawing board. This is becoming an omnishambles – the SNP’s scheme is lurching from one issue to the next, all at the very last minute. 

“Nobody should miss out because of SNP incompetence. The government must guarantee compensation to any person or business who loses out solely because the SNP can’t deliver a working app that’s been in development for months.

“The SNP must order an emergency stop to this policy now, before it hurts businesses and jobs. So far, they have arrogantly ploughed on regardless, against warning after warning from the opposition and business.

“Why won’t Nicola Sturgeon just accept she’s got this wrong?”

Now, the Scottish Government has apologised for the problems encountered with the app, saying that demand quickly outstripped capacity.

A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said: “More than 70,000 downloaded the App yesterday. This huge demand did mean that some people experienced delays and we are sorry that happened.

“We have now increased the capacity of the NHS systems that sit behind the app – where most of the issues causing delays have occurred – in order to deal with demand and, as a result, we are seeing increasing numbers of people now able to access their records.”