Responding to the publication of the Scottish Government’s Health and Social Care Delivery Plan, Professor Derek Bell, President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, said:
“We welcome the renewed focus this Plan gives to improving the health and care system in Scotland and planning for future health care needs. Audit Scotland’s recent report highlighted the pressures that the NHS in Scotland is faced with, which are making it difficult to balance existing care with future need.
"We, therefore, welcome proposals designed to reduce pressures on hospital services. Of chief importance is ensuring that patients are treated in the most appropriate setting, at the right time, cared for by the right person. Adequate resources must be provided to meet these challenges and deliver the best care across all settings and across all of Scotland.
“Completing the roll out of the Unscheduled Care Six Essential Actions should result in a better patient experience, and we support continued action to embed the ‘realistic medicine’ approach, and to invest in prevention to improve public health in Scotland.
“Recruiting and retaining a world class workforce to deliver these plans will be essential. The Audit Scotland report also stressed the importance of improving local and national workforce planning, and we look forward to contributing to work on a National Health and Social Care Workforce Plan in 2017.”
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Contact: s.collier@rcpe.ac.uk 0131 2473658
Notes:
1. Scottish Government’s Health and Social Care Delivery Plan can be found here
