Healthcare in Scotland

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.

The current Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care is Neil Gray.

The Director-General (DG) of Health and Social Care, Chief Executive of NHS Scotland is Caroline Lamb.

[12] 'NHS Near Me', a video consultation service, was first introduced in NHS Highland in 2018 and became widely used in general practice because of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic.

[15]: 53  Private clinics carry out dental and other healthcare services, including non-surgical cosmetic interventions and fertility care.

[7] Its function is to assess the quality of care in Scottish health facilities and to make recommendations for how to fix various issues.

The philosophy behind this is that setting minimum standards incentivises healthcare facilities to provide only the baseline level care.

There are 91 A&E services in total, including minor injury units, but statistics published by Public Health Scotland cover only the 30 larger A&Es.

[19] Public Health Scotland, formed in April 2020,[20] 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.