The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 274 No 7351 p635
28 May 2005

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NHS Scotland to be reformed

Major reforms of the NHS in Scotland were announced on 25 May, as The Journal went to press. Recommendations for the future of the NHS are set out in a framework called Building a health service fit for the future but known as the Kerr report after lead author David Kerr.

Implications for pharmacy are significant since the report calls for a team-based approach in the health service rather than doctor-dependent care. It also wants the NHS to be geared towards long-term conditions rather than acute care, with an emphasis on preventive care.

Health minister Andy Kerr told the Scottish Parliament: “The Kerr report reflects the realities of today’s health service — 90 per cent of all care is delivered locally in a non-hospital setting, through staff like health visitors, practice nurses, physios, pharmacists, and family doctors. That is where we can make the biggest improvements to people’s health.”