Completion of a significant upgrade to the Scottish Wide Area Network (SWAN) ‘could be the robust, future-ready digital foundation which Scottish healthcare has been crying out for,’ according to one of the country’s leading health innovation bodies

SWAN is one of the UK’s largest ever public sector digital transformation programmes—introducing a shared, secure public services network connecting over 6,000 public sector sites, including all NHS Scotland health boards, hospitals, GP surgeries, and the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS).

Before the introduction of SWAN, these organisations suffered from fragmented, expensive, and uncoordinated digital infrastructure which operated on separate, standalone, and self-sufficient networks that could not easily communicate, or share data with one another to facilitate collaboration.

Leading healthcare organisation InnoScot Health believes the conclusion of the work can help put an end to uncoordinated care, instead engendering better joined-up public services, improved sharing of expertise, and laying the foundations for a true ‘Once for Scotland’ approach to innovation.

Executive Chair Graham Watson said: “The completion of this major upgrade programme means that vital healthcare providers like NHS Scotland are benefitting from improved, more resilient, future-ready connectivity.

“It unlocks so many further positives and possibilities—from less unnecessary duplication of costs to accelerated service delivery and enhanced digital inclusivity for Scotland’s remote and island communities.

“The ability to cut down on long distance travel is suddenly significantly increased through enhanced virtual healthcare, remote diagnostics providing quicker analysis, and modernised contact centre operations.

“Perhaps most importantly, patient records can be shared in real-time, improving cross-disciplinary decision-making and promoting stronger collective understanding of patient needs.”

He added: “This could well be the digital foundation which Scottish healthcare has been crying out for.”

The upgrade, delivered ahead of schedule, was carried out by the business arm of British Telecom (BT), which believes it has delivered “world-class” connectivity and network services to Scotland’s public sector.

The contract—awarded by NHS National Services Scotland, now Public Services Delivery Scotland (PSDS) on behalf of the Scottish Government in 2023—is worth up to £350 million over six years.

BT says it will continue to work closely with PSDS throughout the remainder of the contract to enhance the SWAN service, support evolving customer requirements and deliver ongoing improvements in network capability, resilience and security.

Director of digital and security at PSDS, Steven Flockhart noted that the collaborative work would “provide the resilience, performance and flexibility required to meet the evolving needs of modern public services” while creating “an advanced digital foundation that will support innovation, transformation and improved public services for years to come”.

Graham added: “With Scotland now able to leverage improved connectivity at more than 5,000 locations across the country, progressive healthcare ambitions are much better placed for the future—and that can only lead to the realisation of improved collaboration-led innovation.”

The SWAN Programme is considered one of the first major initiatives launched by Scottish Ministers in support of Scotland’s national digital public services strategy.