Scottish health secretary Neil Gray has outlined how the Scottish government intends to strengthen the NHS in Scotland, including plans to improve access to treatment, reduce waiting times, and shift care from happening in hospitals to happening within the community through the publication of the Operational Improvement Plan.
As part of the Budget, £200 million will go towards reduce waiting times, as well as creating an extra 150,000 appointments and procedures through better use of regional and national working.
The Scottish government have also announced a seven-day radiology unit, which will have 95 per cent of referrals seen within six weeks by March 2026, thanks to using mobile scanning units and additional staff. This will reduce backlogs in MRI, CT, ultrasound, and endoscopy procedures.
Hospital at Home is to be expanded to at least 2,000 beds by the end of 2026, making the service the biggest hospital in Scotland by allowing patients to be treated at home. By the summer, the Scottish government experts there to be specialist staff in frailty teams in every A&E department in Scotland.
Flow Navigation Teams will refer patients to more services by directing them to the most appropriate service for their condition, reducing waiting times at A&E.
£10.5 million is to go towards general practice to prevent heart disease and frailty, as well as digital services being expanded. The Digital Front Door app will launch in Lanarkshire in December, followed by a national roll-out in 2026. The app will allow people to securely access their hospital appointments, receive communications, and local services, with the intention of expanding its capabilities to later include social care and community health services.
Visiting Kirklands Hospital’s Flow Navigation Centre, health secretary Neil Gray said: “This plan details how the Scottish government will deliver a more accessible NHS, with reductions to long-waits and the pressures we currently see. It shows how we will use the £21.7 billion health and social care investment in the 2025-26 Budget to deliver significant improvements for patients.
“We want to increase the number of appointments, speed up treatment and make it easier to see a doctor. By using better digital technology, we will embrace innovation and increase efficiencies.
“This plan is ambitious but realistic, and builds on the incredible work of our amazing health and social care staff across our health boards, to deliver real change.”
