Proposals to reform CHPs in Scotland

The Scottish Government has announced plans to reform Community Health Partnerships (CHPs). They will be transformed into new health and social care partnerships, with the aim to strengthen the role clinicians play in planning services locally. Legislation will be introduced to...<<Read More>>

Scottish organ donation campaign launched

The Scottish Government launched its new organ donation campaign yesterday, inviting people to register by phone, text or online. The £590,000 campaign will run for three weeks across TV, radio and the internet. Scotland already has a high register rate, with 37% of the population...<<Read More>>

Scotland will not follow England in ‘breaking up the NHS’

Scotland’s Health Secretary, Nicola Sturgeon, will accuse the UK government of trying to break up the NHS in her speech to the SNP conference in Inverness today, arguing that health service reforms in England are effectively an experiment in...<<Read More>>

Report reveals huge cost of mental health problems in Scotland

New research shows that mental health problems are costing the Scottish economy alone around £10.7bn a year. This is nearly a quarter more than the figure from 2004/05. The research, conducted by The Centre for... <<Read More>>

Prescription charges up in England, gone in Scotland

England is now the only part of the UK with prescription charges – and they have gone up this morning by 20p. Following Scotland’s gradual reduction and now abolition of the charges, it has now joined Wales (2007) and North... <<Read More>>

Prescription charges to be abolished in Scotland from next month

Prescription charges are set to be finally abolished in Scotland. The SNP made the pledge at the 2007 Scottish Parliament elections, and has the backing of Labour MSPs. Charges have already been slowly shrunk to £3... <<Read More>>

Call to protect medical degrees in university funding debate

Medicine should receive special protection in the review of higher education funding, according to Scottish doctors. BMA Scotland, in its response to the Scottish Government’s Green Paper, ‘Building a Smarter Future’... <<Read More>>

New patients rights legislation should be rejected, says BMA

The Patient Rights Bill in Scotland has been written off by doctors as “political rhetoric” which will not improve patient care. The Bill would introduce a 12-week treatment time guarantee for patients, but does not include any rights to redress. BMA Scotland said this...<<Read More>>

£1bn pledge for NHS in Scotland

The NHS in Scotland will get a £1bn windfall if the SNP is returned to power in May, it has pledged. The extra money would stand in contrast to retrenchment across the rest of the UK, the party said, as the NHS seeks to make huge savings while coping with rising... <<Read more>>

NHS managers facing possible cuts in Scotland

Scottish health and wellbeing minister Nicola Sturgeon has said that health boards in Scotland have to cut their senior management by around 25 per cent over the next four years. Her comments came as she spoke at the ruling Scottish National Party’s...

NHS Lothian tops cancer care statistics

Figures released by ISD Scotland have confirmed that NHS Lothian has provided the most prompt cancer treatment, following diagnosis.

The statistics showed that only 5 patients had not been treated within two months of diagnosis, since the beginning of 2010...

A slight correction

Due to a contextual error in a recent a story about the current state of finances at NHS Lothian, National Health Executive would like to apologise for any confusion caused by that story.

The issue surrounding the £70 million, has come about simply because NHS Lothian is allocated less per person than other health boards in Scotland.

However, following information received from the trust...

Moving Scotland forward

The dust may be beginning to settle after the Westminster poll but there is little let up for Scotland. We now have our sights trained on the 2011 election to the Scottish Parliament where health is again bound to be a focus for debate, says Dr Brian Keighley