Here at SPICe, we often receive enquiries from MSPs and their staff seeking data and advice related to health and social care. The Health and Social Care team have compiled a list of useful resources as a starting point to help people find information related to health services, health advice, medicine, and social care in Scotland. If you would like your organisation to be included in this list of resources, please contact SPICe.
This is not intended to be a comprehensive list, but rather provides a snapshot of useful resources. The list will be updated as and when necessary. It was last updated on 30 October 2024.
Scottish Parliament resources
SPICe Spotlight Blog – Blog posts written by SPICe researchers on a range of topics, including health and social care issues.
SPICe Research Briefings – Detailed, impartial briefings written by SPICe researchers about topics of interest to the Scottish Parliament, including health and social care.
Health, Social Care, and Sport Committee – A Scottish Parliament Committee focusing on health, social care, and sport-related issues.
COVID-19 Recovery Committee – A Scottish Parliament Committee which focused on the Scottish Government’s response to COVID-19, and broader topics concerning recovery from the impact of the pandemic. This Committee held its final meeting on 29 June 2023.
Scotland’s Futures Forum: The Scottish Parliament’s Think Tank – A future-focused, non-party think tank that aims to look beyond the five-year electoral cycle and support MSPs to consider the longer-term impacts of decisions made by the Parliament. This webpage links to a list of resources concerning the Scotland’s Futures Forum’s work on health-related topics.
Scottish Parliament Cross-Party Groups – A webpage listing all current Cross-Party Groups in the Scottish Parliament.
Written Questions and Answers Search – A searchable database of written questions lodged by MSPs, and answers provided by the Scottish Government.
Scottish Parliament Calls for Views – Links to active calls for views
Scottish Parliament Petitions – Links to webpages for petitions submitted during Session 6, with details of Parliamentary consideration and engagement for each petition.
Current and former Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) – A list of current and former MSPs, which can be searched by postcode.
Selected SPICe publications
SPICe has published numerous blog posts and briefings exploring health and care topics. The publications below offer useful insights into some of the key issues in health and social care.
FAQs on NHS waiting times in Scotland – Published March 2024
NHS Dental Services in Scotland – Braced for change – Published August 2023
Primary Care in Scotland briefing – Published May 2019
Medicines in Scotland briefing – Published January 2020
Social Work in Scotland briefing – Published May 2022
Timeline of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Scotland – Last updated May 2023
The National Health Service in Scotland briefing – Published December 2016
Adult social care and support in Scotland briefing – Published December 2020
Integration of health and social care briefing – Published August 2016
Organisations and networks
Scottish Government
Scottish Government Health and Social Care homepage – Scottish Government policies, publications, consultations, and news relating to health and social care.
The Scottish Government’s Programmes for Government – A list of the Scottish Government’s current and previous annual Programmes for Government, detailing the actions to be taken by the Scottish Government each year.
Scottish Government Consultations homepage – Links to active Scottish Government consultations.
The Scottish Public Health Network (ScotPHN) – A Scotland-wide network for professionals involved or interested in public health.
NHS Scotland National Health Boards
NHS Scotland’s eight national health boards provide support to its 14 geographical health boards. They provide specialist and national services across Scotland.
Golden Jubilee National Hospital (National Waiting Times Centre) – Provides regional and national healthcare services across a range of specialisms.
Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) – Supports people to make informed decisions about care and treatment, helps health and social care organisations to improve and redesign services, and provides evidence and quality assurance.
NHS 24 – Scotland’s national telehealth and telecare organisation.
NHS Education for Scotland – An education and training body responsible for developing and delivering education and training for the healthcare workforce in Scotland.
NHS National Services Scotland – Supports the delivery of NHS services across Scotland.
Public Health Scotland – Scotland’s national agency for improving and protecting health and wellbeing. Publishes reports and statistics about health and social care services in Scotland.
Scottish Ambulance Service – Provides emergency ambulance service to Scotland’s population.
The State Hospital – A high secure-hospital providing care and rehabilitation to patients with secure care needs.
NHS Scotland Regional Health Boards
NHS Scotland has 14 geographic health boards, which provide healthcare and health protection services to their respective areas across Scotland. Each health board has its own complaint and feedback service.
Integration Joint Boards
A map of Scotland’s 31 Integration Joint Boards
Health and Social Care Scotland – A network representing Scotland’s 31 Health and Social Care Partnerships.
Social care organisations
Scottish Care – A membership organisation representing the independent social care sector in Scotland.
Coalition of Care and Support Providers in Scotland CCPS – a membership organisation representing the interests of third sector and not for profit social care and support providers.
Scottish Social Prescribing Network – A network of social prescribing programmes across Scotland.
Social work organisations
Social Work Scotland – The professional leadership body for Scotland’s social work and social care professions.
Scottish Association of Social Work – A professional membership organisation that provides support, advice, and learning for social work professionals, and campaigns on issues related to social work.
Advice, information, and news
NHS Inform – Scotland’s national health information service.
Care Information Scotland – A source of information about care services for people living in Scotland.
HealthandCare.scot – A news and information service for health and social care in Scotland.
Scotland’s Health on the Web and Scotland’s Health on the Web Publication – A resource hub for NHS Scotland staff.
Patient Advice and Support Service Scotland – An independent support service for patients who wish to make complaints about NHS Scotland treatments or services.
Citizen’s Advice Scotland – An independent service offering free advice on a range of topics, including health and social care.
Scottish Public Services Ombudsman – The final stage for complaints concerning public services in Scotland.
Clinical guidelines
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) – A UK-wide organisation providing advice and guidance to improve health and social care.
Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) – A resource for evidence-based guidelines for patients, developed in collaboration with health and social care professionals, patient organisations, and individuals.
Right Decision Service – A ‘Once for Scotland’ source of digital tools to guide health and social care organisations in evidence-based decision-making.
Medicines
The British National Formulary (BNF) and The British National Formulary for Children (BNFC) – Sources of information for health professionals on the selection, prescribing, dispensing and administration of medicines, provided by NICE.
Scottish Medicines Consortium – A body that advises NHS Scotland on the value of newly-licensed medicines for patients.
Royal Colleges and Faculties
These organisations are the professional bodies representing health and social care professionals in different fields.
Royal College of Anaesthetists
Faculty of Dental Surgery of Edinburgh
Royal College of Emergency Medicine
Royal College of General Practitioners
Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
Faculty of Occupational Medicine
Royal College of Ophthalmologists
Royal College of Paediatrics & Child Health
Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine
Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Glasgow
Royal College of Psychiatrists
Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Health
Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
Faculty of Sport & Exercise Medicine (UK)
Allied Health Professionals Federation
Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists
Chartered Society of Physiotherapy
British and Irish Orthoptic Society
British Association of Prosthetists and Orthotists
National Association of Link Workers
Regulation, inspection, and auditing
The organisations below are responsible for monitoring the delivery of health, medicine, and social care services in Scotland, the UK, and Europe.
Audit Scotland – Responsible for auditing 225 public bodies across Scotland to give independent assurance that Scotland’s public money is spent properly, efficiently, and effectively. Audit Scotland performs annual audits of each NHS Board, and publishes a range of topical reports, including its annual NHS in Scotland report. Audit Scotland’s Work Programme details its planned audit work for the upcoming year.
Care Inspectorate – A scrutiny body responsible for the registration and inspection of care services in Scotland.
General Medical Council – A registration body responsible for overseeing the qualification, registration, and practice of medical doctors in the UK.
Nursing and Midwifery Council – The independent regulator of nurses and midwives across the UK.
General Dental Council – The independent regulator of dentists and other dental care professionals in the UK.
General Pharmaceutical Council – The independent regulator of pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacy premises in the UK.
Scottish Social Services Council – The regulator for the social service workforce in Scotland.
Scottish Public Services Ombudsman – The final stage for complaints about public services organisations in Scotland
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) – The UK’s regulatory body for medicines and medical products.
European Medicines Agency (EMA) – The agency responsible for the evaluation, supervision and safety monitoring of medicines in the European Union.
Trade unions
The trade unions listed below represent many of the health and social care professions working in Scotland.
Scottish Trades Union Congress
Data and statistics
Public Health Scotland publications – A searchable list of Public Health Scotland reports
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) – A webpage listing available health and social care data from the Office for National Statistics
The Scottish Public Health Observatory – A resource for data and information on population health in Scotland, led by Public Health Scotland in collaboration with a range of partners.
Scottish Health Survey – An annual Scottish Government survey intended to provide a picture of the health of Scotland’s population.
TURAS – A database managed by NHS Education for Scotland, reporting on NHS Scotland’s workforce.
Private Healthcare Information Network – An independent organisation that publishes data on performance and fees related to the UK private healthcare sector.
Research
The Knowledge Network Scotland – An online library and knowledge service for health and social care in Scotland.
NHS Research Scotland – Supports and promotes clinical research within NHS Scotland.
ENRICH – Enabling Research in Care Homes – A network designed to connect researchers and care home staff, residents, and visitors to facilitate research in care homes.
The British Medical Journal – A high-impact medical research journal.
PubMed Database – A free searchable database of research primarily focused on health and biomedicine.
Iriss Resources – A repository of evidence produced by Iriss, a charity that supports research and knowledge exchange within social care in Scotland.
House of Commons Library Health and Social Care publications – A list of research publications from the UK Parliament House of Commons Library
Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) Notes – impartial, non-partisan, timely and peer-reviewed research briefings published by the UK Parliament POST office.
Think tanks
Think tanks are expert bodies that perform research and offer advice and ideas on particular topics. The following is a list of Scotland-based and UK-wide think tanks that include health and social care within their remit.
The Institute for Public Policy Research
Centre for Health and the Public Interest
Sarah Swift, Researcher, SPICe
Header image attribution: Health care by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Pix4free