Patients “will question” the necessity of NHS Tayside forking out almost £200,000 on iPads and smartphones, according to an MSP.
Figures released under Freedom of Information legislation show that between April 2011 and this month, the health board spent £191,500 on the devices.
A total of 200 iPads worth £94,000 have been purchased, as well as 400 smartphones costing £97,500. It means, on average, NHS Tayside spent £470 for each iPad and £243.75 per smartphone.
In the FOI response, a spokeswoman for the health board said they were purchased as part of their “commitment to reducing the use of paper”.
She added that “tablets and smartphones are being used in clinical settings to improve the bedside care for patients”.
The data also showed the number of purchases has steadily risen each year from 20 iPads in 2012/13 to 131 last year and 90 smartphones in 2011/12 to 150 last year.
During those two years the money spent on iPads jumped from £9,400 to £61,570 and smartphones climbed from £22,500 to £36,000. NHS Tayside said one iPad had been recorded as lost in 2012.
Labour health spokesman Neil Findlay MSP said he welcomed the health board using advances in technology to improve conditions in hospitals but admitted higher staffing levels would always be a bigger positive.
He said: “We must be sure this money is being spent for the right reasons. We should be clear that technology developments in healthcare have dramatically enhanced the experience of patients in hospitals, but there is no substitution for human interaction.”
Scottish Conservative health spokesman Jackson Carlaw said: “At a time when budgets are under immense strain, patients will question whether this level of investment is necessary.”
NHS Tayside’s director of eHealth Jenny Bodie said: “Clinicians use mobile devices at the bedside to access clinical apps. We are also using mobile devices in the community, with nursing teams able to access records while in the patient’s home. iPads are used in the children’s ward to distract children from potentially painful or distressing treatments.
“As well as being extremely mobile, iPads and smartphones are a secure way of working, with all connections made through the NHS Tayside secure wireless network.”