Healthcare Improvement Scotland

Healthcare Improvement Scotland The purpose of Healthcare Improvement Scotland is to enable the people of Scotland to experience the

We believe that every person in Scotland should receive the best care possible every time We have five key priorities. These are areas where we believe we can make the most impact and where we focus our efforts and resources.

1. Enabling people to make informed decisions about their care and treatment.
2. Helping health and social care organisations to redesign and continuously improve services.
3. Provide evidence and share knowledge that enables people to get the best out of the services they use and helps services improve.
4. Provide quality assurance that gives people confidence in the services and supports providers to improve.
5. Making the best use of resources, we aim to ensure every pound invested in our work adds value to the care people receive.

Paracetamol remains safe to use during pregnancy We’ve issued a statement to support healthcare professionals, patients ...
26/09/2025

Paracetamol remains safe to use during pregnancy

We’ve issued a statement to support healthcare professionals, patients and the public with the best evidence on the use of paracetamol during pregnancy.

The statement confirms the position of the UK’s medicines regulator (MHRA) that paracetamol remains safe to use during pregnancy when taken as directed.

This is supported by MHRA, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), and BUMPS (Best Use of Medicines in Pregnancy).

The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidlines Network (SIGN) is part of our organisation, and continues to improve the quality of health and care in Scotland by developing national clinical guidelines based on the latest evidence.

Read the full statement on our website, link in comments:

We’re at the Alzheimer Scotland conference today. We’re sharing our work on reducing stress and distress for people livi...
22/09/2025

We’re at the Alzheimer Scotland conference today.

We’re sharing our work on reducing stress and distress for people living with dementia. Our case study focuses on Royal Infirmary Edinburgh’s Acute Medicine of the Elderly team.

The team recognised a rise in stress and distress behaviour in patients on the ward. This led to an increase in the length of time patients spent in hospital. The team joined the Reducing stress and distress improvement programme. They tested change ideas to improve identification and person-centred care for patients living with dementia.

If you didn’t get the chance to hear from us at the conference today, you can read the full case study on our website. Link in the comments.



Care Inspectorate@DementiaPolicy

When thinking of having a baby, there are so many important factors to take into consideration – health, exercise, alcoh...
17/09/2025

When thinking of having a baby, there are so many important factors to take into consideration – health, exercise, alcohol and drug intake, smoking, va**ng and various other factors.
Our 15th Citizen's Panel asked the general public for their views around preconception health and care, and what issues they would consider if they were planning to have a child.

Preconception health is an important area as it can influence fertility, early child development, and can prevent harm to future generations.

Find out what the public said. Link to report is in the comments.

We’ve published our maternity care draft standards and we’re keen to hear the views of women who have given birth in Sco...
17/09/2025

We’ve published our maternity care draft standards and we’re keen to hear the views of women who have given birth in Scotland.

The standards aim to promote consistency and improve the quality of maternity services across the country. They will support the ongoing inspection programme for maternity services.

To read the draft standards and take part in the consultation survey, click the link in the comments.

This webinar is for General Practitioners (GPs) and their teams to help improve their understanding of frailty. Find out...
16/09/2025

This webinar is for General Practitioners (GPs) and their teams to help improve their understanding of frailty. Find out how appointing a frailty lead in your practice can drive improvements.

Frailty is a critical issue across our health and social care system. It needs a proactive and integrated approach to:

• improve patient outcomes
• reduce hospital admissions
• ensure integrated care across services

Sign up for our session on 30 September. Link in the comments.

The Scottish Government

People working on leading in design or involved in design projects in healthcare, housing or social care are being invit...
12/09/2025

People working on leading in design or involved in design projects in healthcare, housing or social care are being invited to join an online community.

The Design Community of Practice is a vibrant and supportive community where ideas thrive and connections develop.

Joining gives access to a dedicated MS Teams space to connect with peers, share experiences, and get support from others. There are also quarterly webinars featuring inspiring stories and examples from across the design.

Link in comments.

We've published a report highlighting the key findings from our Safe Delivery of Care inspections from 2021 to 2025.The ...
11/09/2025

We've published a report highlighting the key findings from our Safe Delivery of Care inspections from 2021 to 2025.

The report highlights areas for improvement that all NHS boards may wish to consider.

Follow the link in the comments.

Applications are open for the seventh cohort of the Care Experience Improvement Model (CEIM) Leaders programme.CEIM Lead...
10/09/2025

Applications are open for the seventh cohort of the Care Experience Improvement Model (CEIM) Leaders programme.

CEIM Leaders is a quality improvement coaching skills development programme designed to equip health and social care staff with the necessary knowledge and capabilities to coach and lead care teams.

Link in comments.

We’ve launched a new Evaluation Guide and Toolkit — designed to support the evaluation of public involvement and partici...
04/09/2025

We’ve launched a new Evaluation Guide and Toolkit — designed to support the evaluation of public involvement and participation in health and care services.

This guide is ideal for anyone working in:
* Community engagement
* Public involvement
* Participation for planning and improving services

It offers practical tools, templates, and references to help you build your own evaluation approach.

We’d love to hear how you’re using it — share your feedback and insights!

Link to access the guide is in comments

We’re recruiting a public partner, which is a voluntary role. They will be working to support our National Cancer Medici...
01/09/2025

We’re recruiting a public partner, which is a voluntary role. They will be working to support our National Cancer Medicines Advisory Group (NCMAG).

We’re looking for someone who can give some of their valuable free time to help us with this important work. No expert medical knowledge is required.

Volunteers must live in Scotland to be a public partner. While the role of public partner is voluntary, expenses will be paid, and training will be provided.

Link is in the comments.

This Sunday is International Overdose Awareness Day. So we would like to highlight our new Mental Health and Substance U...
29/08/2025

This Sunday is International Overdose Awareness Day. So we would like to highlight our new Mental Health and Substance Use toolkit.

We have brought together a range of tools and resources to help staff design and deliver better care for people with both mental and substance use needs.

Head to our website to find out more. Link in comments👇
International Overdose Awareness Day

📣Join us on Tuesday 23 September at 2pm to hear from NHS Borders. At this online webinar you’ll learn how they engaged w...
28/08/2025

📣Join us on Tuesday 23 September at 2pm to hear from NHS Borders.

At this online webinar you’ll learn how they engaged with people when creating their organisational strategy. Link in comments to register.

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Healthcare Improvement Scotland

We are Healthcare Improvement Scotland, an organisation with many parts and one purpose - better quality health and social care for everyone in Scotland.

We have five key priorities.

These are areas where we believe we can make the most impact and where we focus our efforts and resources.


  • Enabling people to make informed decisions about their care and treatment.