First Minister John Swinney has presented his Programme for the Scottish Government for 2026 to 2031. This includes cutting 9 NHS mainland health boards, reducing the number from 11 to 2.
The plan is to merge the existing boards into East and West Scotland, with separate plans for Shetland, Orkney, and the Western Isles. Swinney said this was “in order to ensure more joined-up delivery and to reduce inequality for some patients due to health board boundaries.”
During the First Minister’s Statement, he said:
“This will be the most significant structural reform in the era of devolution.”
“It will enable us to deliver the additional capacity to ensure that, by the end of 2031, no one waits for more than 26 weeks for treatment.”
This move will help lower high management costs and prevent administrative duplication, where roles like chief executives and directors for each board overlap.
To bring the Government’s plan into action, a new cabinet minister has already been appointed to lead on public service reform.
This is a breaking news story, updates will be provided as and when received.