Healthcare in Scotland is mainly provided by Scotland's public health service,
NHS Scotland
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, ...
. It provides healthcare to all permanent residents free at the point of need and paid for from general taxation. Health is a matter that is
devolved
Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories h ...
, and considerable differences have developed between the public healthcare systems in the countries of the United Kingdom, collectively the
National Health Service
The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...
(NHS). Though the public system dominates healthcare provision, private healthcare and a wide variety of alternative and complementary treatments are available for those willing and able to pay.
Health in Scotland
Overall Scotland has a healthy population. The average life expectancy in 2014 was 79.4 years, mortality rates from illnesses such as cancer and heart disease are declining, and obesity rates have stayed stable. However, because Scotland is a country with large rural expanses (i.e. 20% of the population lives across 94% of the land space), there are parts of the population that find it challenging to access some healthcare services. This problem is compounded by a disproportionate number of people aged 65 and older living in these rural areas. The elderly generally require more specialised and intensive forms of healthcare services, which may not always be able to be provided at the same level in remote rural areas as they are in Scotland's urban areas due to a lack of rural healthcare professionals.
Healthcare services
Public provision
The
National Health Service (NHS) in Scotland was created by the
National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1947
The National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1947 came into effect on 5 July 1948 and created the National Health Service in Scotland. Though the title 'National Health Service' implies one health service for the United Kingdom, in reality one NHS w ...
in 1948 at the same time the NHS was created for England and Wales. Scotland's NHS remains a separate body from the other public health systems in the UK which can lead to confusion from patients when "cross-border" or emergency care is involved.
Primary
Primary or primaries may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Primary (band), from Australia
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Works
* ...
and
secondary care
Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...
are integrated in Scotland. Unlike in England,
NHS trust
An NHS trust is an organisational unit within the National Health Services of England and Wales, generally serving either a geographical area or a specialised function (such as an ambulance service). In any particular location there may be several ...
s do not exist in Scotland. Instead, healthcare is provided through fourteen regional
health boards. These health boards are further subdivided into
Health and Social Care Partnership
Health and Social Care Partnerships, (HSCPs) are organisations formed to integrate services provided by Health Boards and Councils in Scotland. Each partnership is jointly run by the NHS and local authority. There are 31 HSCPs across Scotland. The ...
s. The Scottish Ambulance Service is the pan-Scotland board responsible for prehospital care provision and transport of patients between the mainland and the Scottish Islands. The ambulance service is supported by the Emergency Medical Retrieval Service and
BASICS Scotland
The British Association for Immediate Care Scotland (BASICS Scotland) is an organisation involved with prehospital care. It has the aims of providing encouragement and aid with the formation of immediate care schemes and to provide training to s ...
.
Scotland spent over £12 billion on healthcare in 2015/16 which accounted for 40% of the Scottish Government's total budget. The NHSScotland consists of approximately 161,000 employees, 9.2% of whom are medical or dental doctors, 42.9% nurses and midwives, 18.2% administrative services, 3.9% healthcare scientists, and the remaining 25.8% in various other medical services. In the past several years, healthcare costs have been rising in Scotland. Despite this, Scots have a generally favorable view of their NHS service with 61% of the population either very or quite satisfied with the service. This is in contrast to a diminishing view in England of their NHS system.
Healthcare policy and funding is the responsibility of the
Scottish Government's
Health Directorates. The current
Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport
The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, commonly referred to as the Health Secretary, is a cabinet position in the Scottish Government. The Cabinet Secretary is responsible for the Health and Social Care Directorates and NHS Scotland.
...
is
Humza Yousaf
Humza Haroon Yousaf (born 7 April 1985) is a Scottish politician serving as Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care since 2021. He is the first non-white and first Muslim cabinet minister in the Scottish Government. A member of the Sco ...
. The Director-General (DG) of Health and Social Care, Chief Executive of NHS Scotland is Caroline Lamb.
'NHS Near Me', a video consultation service, was first introduced in
NHS Highland
NHS Highland is one of the fourteen regions of NHS Scotland. Geographically, it is the largest Health Board, covering an area of from Kintyre in the south-west to Caithness in the north-east, serving a population of 320,000 people. In 2016–1 ...
in 2018 and became widely used in general practice because of the impact of
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. It replaced an earlier service, Pharmacy Anywhere. In May 2020 it began to be used in community pharmacies. 87% of patients and 94% of clinicians thought video consultations should be an option in September 2020.
Private provision
Around 8.5% of people in Scotland are reckoned to have some form of voluntary private health insurance . Private clinics carry out dental and other healthcare services, including non-surgical cosmetic interventions and fertility care.
The number of referrals to private companies by NHS Scotland increased from almost 13,000 in 2013/4 to more than 28,000 in 2014/5 at a cost of £37 million. The biggest increase was in MRI scans in Glasgow.
Nuffield Health
Nuffield Health is the United Kingdom's largest healthcare charity. Established in 1957 the charity operates 31 Nuffield Health Hospitals and 114 Nuffield Health Fitness & Wellbeing Centres.
It is independent of the National Health Service and ...
runs a private hospital in Glasgow which is a major centre for
in vitro fertilisation
In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating an individual's ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) ...
. It celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2015 with approximately 6,000 babies produced.
Quality monitoring
Healthcare Improvement Scotland
Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) is the national healthcare improvement organisation for Scotland. It is a Scottish public body, public body which is part of the Scottish National Health Service, created in April 2011.
History
NHS Quality I ...
(HIS) is responsible for scrutiny of NHS hospitals and services, as well as independent healthcare services.
Its function is to assess the quality of care in Scottish health facilities and to make recommendations for how to fix various issues.
However, HIS does not impose a formal accreditation system for NHS hospitals and clinics. The philosophy behind this is that setting minimum standards incentivises healthcare facilities to provide only the baseline level care. Formal accreditation can also be seen as burdensome bureaucratic intrusion by healthcare providers.
Instead, HIS works in a more informal and collaborative approach with the NHS. This method of oversight differs from most other healthcare systems in the
OECD
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...
who look to set clear and consistent standards.
The Scottish Government has sought to deflect criticism of performance in A&E by noting that - however bad things are - at least they are not as bad as England. There are 91 A&E services in total, including minor injury units, but statistics published by
Public Health Scotland
Public Health Scotland (PHS) is the national public health body for Scotland. It is a Special NHS Health Board, and it is jointly accountable to the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) and the Scottish Government. Fully exercising ...
cover only the 30 larger A&Es. They are compared with England’s 170 Type 1 “major” A&Es, but many of the Scottish sites do not take major trauma. Monthly attendances are about 7000-8000 per Type 1 A&E in England against 3000-3,500 per ED in Scotland. If comparison is applied to all A&E services performance in England is slightly better.
Public health
Public Health Scotland
Public Health Scotland (PHS) is the national public health body for Scotland. It is a Special NHS Health Board, and it is jointly accountable to the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) and the Scottish Government. Fully exercising ...
, formed in April 2020, responds to infections diseases and environmental hazards, and supports national initiatives in areas such as mental well-being, inequality, and preventing harm from alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.
See also
*
Healthcare in the United Kingdom
Healthcare in the United Kingdom is a devolved matter, with England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales each having their own systems of publicly funded healthcare, funded by and accountable to separate governments and parliaments, together wi ...
*
List of hospitals in Scotland
The following is a partial list of currently operating hospitals in Scotland.
NHS hospitals in Scotland
Organised by NHS board areas, see NHS National Services Scotland and Subdivisions of Scotland.
Ayrshire and Arran
East Ayrshire, North ...
*
Social care in Scotland
Social care in Scotland encompasses social work; care home services in the community for adults, children and young people; and services for young children, including nurseries and after-school care clubs.
National Care Service
The National Ca ...
References
External links
NHS Scotland website
{{Health care in Europe