Healthcare science: strategic approach

Strategic Ambitions for Healthcare Science in Scotland

Four strategic ambitions have been set out as part of this strategic approach to healthcare science in Scotland. The ambitions represent the changes that people have told us they want to see within healthcare science, and the wider system.

As such, they will be used to guide future activity – with any work to be undertaken as part of the Strategic Approach to Healthcare Science in Scotland contributing to the achievement of one or more of the ambitions.

This approach will help to prioritise activity, in recognition that collective working to a small number of goals will help make improvements which will have a more substantial impact on the NHS and patient outcomes.

The ambitions can be applied to the healthcare science profession as a whole, as well as to individual specialties. They will act as high level indicators of success, and whilst they are not measured in a data sense it is expected that the work happening underneath each ambition is measurable – therefore allowing us to demonstrate progress against each over time.

Achievement of the ambitions will subsequently help us to achieve the long term vision which has been set out in this paper.

• People working in and interacting with the health system understand what healthcare science is and how the scientific workforce can improve patient outcomes.
• Patient outcomes are improved as the healthcare science workforce is fully considered and utilised in service planning, development, and delivery.
• Healthcare science contributes to the sustainability of the NHS workforce in the future as it attracts and retains a diverse range of people to careers, at all levels, which are appealing and support delivery of healthcare to meet the needs of the population.
• Healthcare scientists are leaders in the NHS, and spearhead innovation into the future whilst championing delivery of safe and quality services in line with scientific best practice.