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NHS staff from Fife travelled to Alaska to learn about an innovative family wellness programme which has helped A&E admissions decrease by 40% The real challenge for the NHS today is to adapt to a radically different operating environment, where health needs are often chronic and complex, financial resources are pegged at current levels and the wider world is changing fast. The challenge goes deep: to the underlying purpose and culture of healthcare. In Scotland, with help from the International Futures Forum a number of public health, clinical and management staff, have been exploring these...

Audit Scotland says despite good progress of Scottish NHS, pressure of costs and demand is building All health bodies in Scotland met their financial targets, but 10 out of 14 NHS boards have reported underlying recurring deficits, Scotland's spending watchdog has said. In an overview of the NHS in Scotland's performance for 2010-11 , Audit Scotland says that the service faces pressures from an ageing population, rising public demand and expectations, increased costs and staff reduction. The NHS spent £12bn in 2010-11, with the budget for 2011-12 estimated to be £232m higher. However, this...

Greater coordination of transport for health and social care could lead to significant improvements and financial savings, according to Audit Scotland Poor information about services and uncoordinated arrangements mean there is a risk people in Scotland are not getting the health and social care transport services they need, Audit Scotland has said. In a report titled Transport for health and social care , the spending watchdog says that badly planned transport results in unnecessary journeys, missed or late appointments, people staying in hospital longer than they need to and reliance on unplanned...

A Scottish health board has cut its use of some diabetes-related operations by 40% by adopting a long term collaborative approach There are more than 19,000 people with diabetes in Tayside, and that figure is set to rise by 7% each year. But despite the high prevalence of the condition, patient care in the region is improving and fewer operations are being carried out. This success is a direct result of healthcare professionals from primary, secondary and tertiary care working collaboratively to get a better overview of patients' requirements. "About 20 years ago we thought the only way...