Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) is the national healthcare improvement organisation for Scotland. It is a
public body
A statutory corporation is a government entity created as a statutory body by statute. Their precise nature varies by jurisdiction, thus, they are statutes owned by a government or controlled by national or sub-national government to the (in ...
which is part of the
Scottish National Health Service
NHS Scotland, sometimes styled NHSScotland, is the publicly funded healthcare system in Scotland and one of the four systems that make up the National Health Service in the United Kingdom. It operates 14 territorial NHS boards across Scotland, ...
, created in April 2011.
History
NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (NHS QIS) was established on 1 January 2003 as a special health board with a remit to improve the quality of healthcare in Scotland. Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) was established by the
Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010
The Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 was an Act of the Scottish Parliament making changes to the organisation of public services in Scotland. Among other provisions, it set up the development body for the arts and creative industries Crea ...
, taking over the work of QIS and the regulatory functions, in regard to independent healthcare provision, previously conducted by the Care Commission, now renamed the
Care Inspectorate. The first chair of HIS, serving from 2010 to 2018, was
Dame Denise Coia.
The function of this body is to implement the healthcare priorities of the
Scottish Government, in particular the Healthcare Quality Strategy of NHS Scotland.
Units
Healthcare Improvement Scotland incorporates several organisations:
* Healthcare Environment Inspectorate
* Scottish Health Technologies Group
*
Community Engagement
* Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network
* Scottish Medicines Consortium
*
Scottish Patient Safety Programme The Scottish Patient Safety Programme (SPSP) is national initiative to improve the reliability of healthcare and reduce the different types of harm that can be associated. The programme is co-ordinated by Healthcare Improvement Scotland and is the f ...
Healthcare Environment Inspectorate
The Healthcare Environment Inspectorate (HEI) carries out safety and cleanliness inspections of healthcare services across NHS Scotland. The assessments and inspections are to ensure that healthcare services are meeting the required standards of care, that good practice is identified and that areas for improvement are addressed.
Community Engagement
Community Engagement launched in April 2020, having formerly been the Scottish Health Council. It has a role to improve how the NHS in Scotland involves people in decisions about health services.
Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network
The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) was formed in 1993 and develops and disseminates
evidence based
Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is "the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients". The aim of EBM is to integrate the experience of the clinician, the values of t ...
clinical practice
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practice ...
guidelines. These guidelines contain recommendations for effective practice based on current evidence. SIGN aim to improve the quality of health care for patients in Scotland. Membership includes medical specialists,
nursing
Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...
,
pharmacy
Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it links heal ...
,
dentistry
Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, disorders, and conditions o ...
, professions allied to
medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...
, patients, managers,
social services
Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...
and researchers. In 2005 it became part of NHS Quality Improvement Scotland.
Guidelines are developed by
multidisciplinary
Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several other fields like sociology, anthropology, psychology, ec ...
working group
A working group, or working party, is a group of experts working together to achieve specified goals. The groups are domain-specific and focus on discussion or activity around a specific subject area. The term can sometimes refer to an interdis ...
s with representation from across Scotland. Each Guideline has the preliminary conclusions and draft recommendations presented it to a wider audience for feedback before publication. After publication they are available for download free of charge.
More than 160 guidelines have been produced, with current guidelines available on their website.
Scottish Medicines Consortium
The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has the role of providing advice to
NHS Boards
NHS Scotland, sometimes styled NHSScotland, is the publicly funded healthcare system in Scotland and one of the four systems that make up the National Health Service in the United Kingdom. It operates 14 territorial NHS boards across Scotland, ...
and their Area Drug and Therapeutics Committees (ADTCs) about all newly licensed medicines.
It seeks to supply advice within 12 weeks of a new medicine being licensed to ensure that patients who could benefit can get access to the medicine as quickly as possible. The speed of the process has allowed the SMC to be compared favourably against the performance of the
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care in England that publishes guidelines in four areas:
* the use of health technologies withi ...
(NICE) which performs a similar role for the NHS in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
. On one occasion, NICE was accused of incompetence by the
Royal National Institute of Blind People
The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) is a UK charity offering information, support and advice to almost two million people in the UK with sight loss.
History
The RNIB was founded by Thomas Rhodes Armitage, a doctor who had eye ...
(RNIB) for delaying issuing advice for England and Wales about a drug that had already been approved for use in Scotland by the SMC. New cancer drugs approved by the Consortium in 2018 are expected to increase acute drugs bills for health boards by about 9% in 2019.
Scottish Patient Safety Programme
The Scottish Patient Safety Programme (SPSP) was launched in January 2008 as a five-year programme. It had a primary aim to reduce mortality by 15 per cent and adverse events by 30 per cent across Scotland’s acute hospitals by the end of 2012.
In June 2012 a second phase of the programme was announced, with an aim to ensure that at least 95 per cent of people receiving care do not experience harm – such as infections, falls, blood clots and pressure sores.
The Pharmacy in Primary Care Collaborative is to run for two years from July 2014.
"The Scottish Patient Safety Programme, marks Scotland as a leader, second to no nation on earth, in its commitment to reducing harm to patients, dramatically and continually."
Donald Berwick
Donald M. Berwick (born September 9, 1946) is a former Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Prior to his work in the administration, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for Healthcare I ...
, President Emeritus and Senior Fellow,
Institute for Healthcare Improvement
A Patient Safety Organization (PSO) is a group, institution, or association that improves medical care by reducing medical errors. Common functions of patient safety organizations are data collection and analysis, reporting, education, funding, ...
.
References
External links
*
* of Community Engagement (formerly the Scottish Health Council)
* of the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network
* of the Scottish Medicines Consortium
{{Authority control
NHS Scotland
2011 establishments in Scotland
Government agencies established in 2011
Public bodies of the Scottish Government
Regulators of Scotland
Dentistry in Scotland
Medical regulation in the United Kingdom