More than £1 billion invested in NHS Scotland recovery
The investment will help address backlogs caused by the pandemic.
More than £1 billion is being invested into the NHS recovery, which has been detailed in the Recovery Plan published today.
It’s in a bid to get the health service back on track following the Covid-19 pandemic.
The plan sets out key actions for the next five years to help address backlogs in healthcare and increase capacity by at least 10%.
It outlines a range of reforms across primary and acute NHS services to help recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and get everyone the treatment they need as quickly as possible.
A key aim in primary care is to restore face-to-face GP consultations as quickly and safely as possible.
The Scottish Government’s also boosting the NHS Pharmacy First scheme to enhance the range of services patients can access from community pharmacists without having to go to their GP.
Capacity for inpatients, day cases, outpatients and diagnostics is also being increased. Prior to the pandemic, Scotland’s NHS carried out approximately 270,000 inpatient/day cases per year, and approximately 1.4 million outpatient appointments. Through this plan, work will be underway to increase NHS capacity substantially beyond these levels.
A priority within the plan is to focus on the health and wellbeing of NHS staff who have worked harder than ever, particularly during the pandemic.
Actions to support health and wellbeing of NHS staff
• Increasing investment in National Treatment Centres (NTCs) to more than £400 million, contributing to delivery of over 40,000 additional elective surgeries and procedures per year
• Raising primary care investment by 25%, supporting GPs, community pharmacists, dentists and optometrists
• Investing £29 million to target diagnostic backlogs, providing 78,000 additional procedures in 2021/22 rising to 90,000 per year from 2025/26
• Providing £8 million to support the mental health and wellbeing of the health and care workforce
• Investing £11 million in new national and international recruitment campaigns to produce an additional 1,500 staff over the next five years for the NTCs, 1,000 mental health link workers in communities, 800 more GPs, and boosting paramedic numbers through the £10,000 Paramedic Bursary.
• Delivering £23 million to redesign urgent care – with rapid access to a senior clinician via a telephone or video consultation where possible, reducing the pressure on A&E
• Devoting £130 million to deliver the National Cancer Plan and Detect Cancer Early Programme
• Ensuring at least 10% of frontline health spending will be dedicated to mental health, and recruiting 320 additional Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) workers
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was joined by Health Secretary Humza Yousaf to launch the NHS Recovery Plan during a visit to the new national Centre for Sustainable Delivery which will play a key role in supporting improvements in outpatient and inpatient capacity as well as diagnostics.
She said: "This Plan will drive the recovery of our NHS, not just to its pre-pandemic level but beyond.
"As we maintain our resilience against COVID-19 and other pressures, the Scottish Government is providing targeted investment to increase capacity, reform the system and ultimately get everyone the treatment they need as quickly as possible.
"Tackling the backlog of care is essential and will be a priority. But we want to go further than that and deliver an NHS that is innovative, sustainable and stronger than ever before."