The Scottish Government is to establish a new body to drive transformation in health and care in Scotland, replacing NHS Education for Scotland (NES) and NHS National Services Scotland (NSS), and taking the lead on workforce, infrastructure, innovation, and digital transformation.
A particular focus of the newly-formed organisation, to be named Public Services Delivery Scotland (PSD Scotland), will be on digital transformation, according to the government. It will also take responsibility for accelerating national programmes, continuing delivery of existing NES and NSS services, and delivering efficient, safer, and more consistent care.
PSD Scotland will be formally established on 1 April 2026. The NSS brand will now be retired, the government states, to allow PSD Scotland to support public bodies alongside health boards in a way that adds value and does not duplicate provision.
Members of the new PSD Scotland Board have been announced, with Keith Redpath to chair, and a further 14 members comprised of non-executive members, executive members, and employee directors.
Redpath highlighted that the new board brings together a wide range of skills, leadership, experience, and perspectives, adding: “PSD Scotland brings together the strengths of NSS and NES in a way that allows us to work efficiently and consistently across Scotland’s health and care system. As we move into this next phase, our commitment is to maintain continuity of essential services, support our staff through the transition and build a strong foundation for the years ahead.”
The 14 members include: Lisa Blacket (non executive member), Paul Buchanan (non executive member), Ian Cant (employee director), Olga Clayton (non executive member), Shona Cowan (non executive member), Jean Ford (non executive member), Lynnette Grieve (employee director), Gordon Greenhill (non executive member), Annie Gunner Logan (non executive member), Arturo Langa (non executive member), Beth Lawton (non executive member), Maria McGill (non executive member), Karen Reid (executive member) and George Valiotis (non executive member).
Wider trend: Digital transformation in Scotland
The digital health and care directorate in Scotland has issued an update for 2025/26 on its national digital health and care strategy delivery plan, pointing to current status and anticipated delivery dates for work across digital access, inclusion, services, foundations and skills. This follows a number of developments towards a renewed focus, it states, aligning with NHS Scotland’s operational improvement plan.
NHS National Services Scotland has published a prior information notice for the procurement of a digital cognitive behaviour therapy multi-treatment platform. The agency aims to procure a digital solution to support self-management CBT digital therapeutic treatments across areas including depression, anxiety, OCD, panic attacks and other similar disorders. NSS has outlined several key deliverables of the platform, including the ability to offer tailored treatment for various conditions “across a range of demographic groups, including young people and older adults” in order to “ensure the maximum effectiveness”.
The Scottish government has shared how the objectives set out in its Women’s Health Plan for Scotland are to be achieved across two phases. The first phase sets out priority areas to: ensure women have access to specialist menopause services for advice and support on the diagnosis and management of menopause; access to information for girls and women on menstrual health and management options; access for women to appropriate support, speedy diagnosis and best treatment for endometriosis; access to abortion and contraception services; rapid and easily accessible postnatal contraception; and to reduce inequalities in health outcomes for women’s general health, including work on cardiac disease.
