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, ...
is the
publicly funded healthcare systems in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
. It was founded 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 ...
(since repealed by the
National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978) and was launched on 5 July 1948, under the control of the
Secretary of State for Scotland. As a result of the
Scotland Act 1998
The Scotland Act 1998 (c. 46) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which legislated for the establishment of the devolved Scottish Parliament with tax varying powers and the Scottish Government (then Scottish Executive). It was o ...
, control over NHS Scotland transferred to the
Scottish Government and
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
in 1999.
Background
![Your Health Service - How it will work in Scotland, 1948](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Your_Health_Service_-_How_it_will_work_in_Scotland%2C_1948.jpg)
Prior to the creation of Scotland's NHS in 1948, the state was involved with the provision of healthcare, though it was not universal. Half of Scotland's landmass was already covered by the
Highlands and Islands Medical Service
The Highlands and Islands Medical Service (HIMS) provided state funded healthcare to a population covering half of Scotland's landmass from its launch in 1913 until the creation of Scotland's National Health Service (NHS) in 1948. Though treatmen ...
, a state-funded health system run directly from Edinburgh, which had been set up 35 years earlier. In addition, there had been a substantial state-funded hospital building programme during the war years. Scotland also had its own distinctive medical tradition, centred on its medical schools rather than private practice, and a detailed plan for the future of health provision based on the Cathcart report.
Facilities were built during the Second World War that took hospital capacity to 30,000 beds.
By June 1947, there were 112 centres that were part of the St Andrews and Red Cross service.
The 1947 Act provided a uniform national structure for services which had previously been provided by a combination of the Highlands and Islands Medical Service, local government, charities and private organisations which in general was only free for emergency use. The new system was funded from central taxation and did not generally involve a charge at the time of use for services concerned with existing medical conditions or vaccinations carried out as a matter of general public health requirements.
The NHS in Scotland was formed on 5 July 1948.
Prescription charges
The NHS (Amendment) Act 1949 was passed by a Labour government and allowed a prescription charge to be collected, although these fees were first introduced by a Conservative government in 1952. However, prescription charges in Scotland were abolished by the
Scottish Government on 1 April 2011, leaving England as the only country in the UK in which such charges still exist.
Programmes
In 1962 a £70million programme of hospital modernisation was announced.
See also
*
History of Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland
Health and Social Care (HSC) ( ga, Sláinte agus Cúram Sóisialta, ) is the Publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare system in Northern Ireland. Although having been created separately to the National Health Service (NHS), it ...
*
History of NHS Wales
*
History of the National Health Service (England)
The National Health Service in England was created by the National Health Service Act 1946. Responsibility for the NHS in Wales was passed to the Secretary of State for Wales in 1969, leaving the Secretary of State for Social Services responsibl ...
References
{{reflist
External links
NHS Scotland65 years of the NHS in Scotland
NHS Scotland
Scottish Government
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, ...