The Scottish Government

Useful Links

• Scotland's Health On the Web (SHOW)
  Online health information provided by the NHS in Scotland.
• Health Scotland
  Scotland's national agency for improving the health of our population.
• Health and Community Care Statistics
  Statistics and links to sources of data on the health of people in Scotland, and NHS and Local Authority data on the provision and use of health and community care services in Scotland.
• Information Services Division (ISD)
  Scotland's national organisation for health information, statistics and IT services.
• Scottish Public Health Observatory (ScotPHO)
  Statistics, information, policy notes and commentaries on data sources, references and links for a wide range of topics relating to the health of the Scottish population.
• Ministerial Task Force on Health Inequalities
  The intention of the Task Force is to agree priorities for cross-cutting government activity that will achieve measurable outcomes in reducing health inequalities. The Task Force will report to Cabinet in May 2008.
• NHS Quality Improvement Scotland
  The role of NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (NHS QIS) is to lead on improving quality of care and treatment delivered by the health service by providing clear advice and guidance on effective clinical practice, setting clinical and non-clinical standards of care, reviewing and monitoring the performance of NHS services, supporting NHS staff in improving services, and promoting patient safety and the implementation of clinical governance.
• NHSScotland Resource Allocation Committee (NRAC)
  Group established in 2005 to improve the current method used to divide the NHS budget among NHS Boards (Arbuthnott Formula). The group's report - Delivering Fair Shares for Health in Scotland - was accepted by the Cabinet Secretary in February 2008. The new formula will be implemented from 2009/10.
• 18 Weeks: The Referral to Treatment Standard
  Information about the programme to deliver the 18 weeks Referral to Treatment (RTT) standard. From December 2011 the new standard will be in place and 18 weeks will become the maximum wait from referral to treatment.
• Future Care Services for Older People
  Information on the Scottish Government website about the challenges of an ageing population.
• Social Work Services Scotland
  Information about Changing Lives - the change programme for social work services in Scotland.

• Media Monitoring
  Health stories selected by ISD Library's media monitoring service.

• 60 Years of the NHS
  How the NHS in Scotland has developed over the years since it was established on 5 July 1948.