NHS Boards have primary responsibility for involving people in decisions about health services. Boards are expected to carry out their duty of involvement in line with Scottish Executive policy on patient focus and public involvement, relevant guidance and, in future, the standards which are currently being developed by the Scottish Health Council.
The Scottish Health Council, a national body with a local presence, will scrutinise how well NHS Boards are involving people. The Scottish Health Council is part of NHS Quality Improvement Scotland, which was set up in 2003 to provide an independent check on the quality of health services and provide support on best practice in patient focus and public involvement. Working together, both organisations will put the views of patients and the public at the heart of service improvement in the NHS. The Scottish Health Council will be a powerful mechanism for holding the NHS to account for its performance in patient and public involvement activities.
The Scottish Executive was committed to retaining the benefits of earlier arrangements and the expertise of local Health Council staff and members. All of the functions carried out by former Local Health Councils will continue, although responsibility for these is being passed to other organisations inside and outside of the NHS.
Click here to read the NHS Reform (Scotland) Act 2004 (link to external site).