Scotland’s Programme for Government 2026-31 has been published, sharing government commitments to deliver a “stronger NHS”, including £10 billion in capital spending over the next decade, £200 million annually on elective capacity, and the expansion of Hospital at Home.
The NHS in Scotland will be simplified by replacing the current 14 territorial health boards with two strategic health boards, with reported aims to deliver more efficient use of resources and better joined up care, as well as to support the further integration of health and social care. Similarly, digital services will henceforth be designed based on a “tell us once” approach, supported by the development of digital platforms, data platforms, shared data definitions, and data sets. Work on the Data Exchange will be accelerated to allow for data held by one organisation to be made available to other organisations to improve service delivery.
Earlier this month, through the Health and Care Improving Flow Plan, the government notes one connected system will be created offering a single route to care, and health boards will be required to work collectively to coordinate the management of waiting lists in elective care. More care will be delivered through a new community first approach, and new integrated navigation centres will ensure NHS 24, the Scottish Ambulance Service, and wider system partners provide coordinated triage and advice.
The government highlights upcoming investment of at least £10 billion capital spending over the next ten years for new and renewed facilities including Community Health and Care hubs across the country, £200 million each year for elective capacity, and £530 million in a deal with GPs with a focus on recruiting more family doctors. An AI hub will be developed to accelerate the safe adoption of AI technologies across the system, services on MyCare.scot will continue to be rolled out, and a greater focus will be placed on shifting more care closer to home.
The volume of people receiving care at home through Hospital at Home services will be expanded from 7,500 to 10,000 over the coming winter, including for paediatric care, the government continues. National infrastructure for genomics will be developed, with a registry for those at increased genetic risk of cancer, “health MOTs” will be introduced with third sector partners like Chest, Heart & Stroke Scotland, and £13 million will be used for the second phase of the Women’s Health Plan and the National Plan for Gynaecology to reduce waiting times and fund new research.
Wider trend: Health transformation in Scotland
NHS Scotland outlined its intent to explore options for a “multi-channel” remote health monitoring and communication solution earlier this year. The solution sought will be capable of supporting care pathways including home or mobile health monitoring, according to the notice, enabling people to update and share health information from a home or community setting to promote improved monitoring, self-management, and proactive care, it shared.
The MyCare.Scot app designed to make it easier for people to access their health and social care information in one place, has gone live across Scotland. In a LinkedIn post, Mark Alan Grey, service owner at the Scottish Government, congratulated NHS colleagues and digital directorate teams, adding: “For NHS this brings a first step to allowing patients instant access to data, and in the very near future direct mail to a mailbox rather than a paper letter that could get lost, be late, and ultimately costs time and money.”
In a special report into digital transformation across Scotland, sponsored by Altera Digital Health, we interviewed digital healthcare leaders, explored digital progress and plans across health boards, and shared insight on local and national ambitions. To gain perspectives and insights, we interviewed Stephen Baguley, chief clinical digital officer at NHS Grampian, Jonathan Cameron, deputy director for digital health and care at the Scottish Government and Catherine Kelly, CCIO at NHS Borders.
