NHS in Scotland must reform to survive, report warns

Deep seated problems facing Scotland’s NHS make the service unsustainable in its present form, a critical report from Audit Scotland has warned.1Since 2019 extra funding of £3bn has been provided and more than 20 000 additional staff have been hired, but performance has not improved in line with commitments made by the Scottish government, said Audit Scotland’s latest annual report.It added that although hospital based activity had increased in the past year—helping to cut waiting lists and waiting times—performance remained below pre-pandemic levels.The report also repeated warnings from previous years that the service would need reform to meet demand.2 It said, “Improvements in productivity and reform of the health and care system are essential if health outcomes are to get better, healt