Urgent NHS reform is needed in Scotland, says auditor

The NHS in Scotland is rapidly running out of time to reform the way care is delivered and to ensure the service can be made financially sustainable, Audit Scotland has warned.1

In its annual review of NHS performance in Scotland, Audit Scotland said that progress towards health and social care integration had been too slow and that a new national strategy was needed that supports large scale, system-wide reform from 2020 onwards.

Without change, the Scottish government’s own figures indicate that the service will run up a £1.8bn (€2.1bn; $2.3bn) shortfall by 2023-24. Extra financial …