Targets for NHS boards to be reviewed

NHS performance targets are to be reviewed after doctors spoke out against being at the mercy of skewed political priorities.

Health Secretary Shona Robison said the Scottish Government will take a fresh look at the targets system, which includes 19 standards from waiting times to staff sickness that health boards must follow.

Announcing the review during at a Holyrood debate yesterday, Ms Robison said targets have an “important place in our NHS”. But she added the “time is now right to take stock of what we are asking from the NHS”.

Jill Vickerman, from BMA Scotland, welcomed the review of the targets system, adding doctors are “frustrated that the focus on political priorities it creates can overshadow clinical advice”.

Earlier the Scottish Government announced it would unveil Scotland’s new chief scientific adviser today.