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COURIER OPINION: Scottish Labour’s NHS plan as controversial as it is radical
Feb 24, 2025
Scottish Labour’s radical plan to shake up the structure of Scotland’s NHS is as bold as it is contentious.
Under the party’s plan, the country’s 14 regional health boards would be reduced to just three, with NHS Tayside and NHS Fife likely to be merged into a larger regional super board.
The aim, according to Labour, is to cut bureaucracy, improve efficiency, and direct more resources towards frontline patient care.
Few would disagree that Scotland’s health service is in critical care.
Waiting times are too long, staff shortages are widespread, and financial pressures are acute.
The question is whether a structural overhaul of this scale is the right way to tackle these challenges – and whether it can be done without doing even more damage.
The potential benefits of a merger are clear. By consolidating management structures, Labour believes it can reduce duplication and free up funds that can be redirected to doctors, nurses, and patients.
A larger, centralised health board could also enable more consistent care across regions which minimises postcode lotteries in provision.
Merging resources could address workforce crisis
There is certainly a need to standardise treatment and ensure patients in one part of the country do not receive markedly different service levels from those in another.
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