Health in Scotland

Health In Scotland

NHS Scotland, the Scottish National Health Service, is the country's publicly funded healthcare system. Health and social care policy and funding are the responsibility of the Health and Social Care Directorates of the Scottish Government. The current Cabinet Secretary for Health and Well-being is Alex Neil and the head of staff is the Director-General Health and Social Care and Chief Executive of NHSScotland, Derek Feeley.

NHS Scotland had an operating budget of £11.35 billion in 2010-11, funding the employment of approximately 140,000 staff, including more than 47,500 nurses, midwives and health visitors and over 3,800 consultants. In addition, there are also more than 12,000 doctors, family practitioners and allied health professionals, including dentists, opticians and community pharmacists, who operate as independent contractors providing a range of services within the NHS in return for fees and allowances.

Health and social care are devolved issues in the United Kingdom and the 3 separate public healthcare bodies of Scotland, England and Wales are each commonly referred to as "National Health Service". However, these 3 separate public healthcare agencies were all administratively separate even prior to political devolution in 1999. This separation of powers and financing tends to be hidden from the general public due to the co-ordination and co-operation where cross-border emergency care is involved, and due to London-based media tending to conflate the 3 services.