Ground-breaking move by NHS Highland and UHI

NHS HIGHLAND has agreed to form Scotland's first university health board.

NHS Highland and the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) are working together in a unique partnership which they say underpins their commitment to training and research.

NHS Highland’s director of public health, Professor Hugo Van Woerden, said the move shows the health board is committed to ensuring joint work by staff is appropriately recognised.

‘In addition, the board has agreed to the working title of ‘NHS Highland: A University Health Board’ which we feel will enhance the reputation of NHS Highland and support our expertise in the delivery of integrated health and adult social care,’ he added. The remit of the university partnership will be to drive forward and monitor developments across education and training, quality improvement, research and innovation and remote and rural practice and service delivery.

NHS Highland chief executive Elaine Mead added: ‘UHI continues to grow rapidly, particularly in the field of health, and has recently consolidated this growth in a school of health, care and well-being. In part, this has been triggered by the transfer of the Inverness-based School of Nursing, which was part of the University of Stirling, to UHI. There is also support to develop a care academy to take forward the development of a home care workforce. The reason we were keen to go for university health board status, as opposed to a hospital board, is that the vast majority of our care and services are provided outside of hospital settings.

‘It is important to note this partnership will not change the formal name of the health board, nor our logo. The development of this joint venture between NHS Highland and UHI will help to facilitate both teaching and research, and lead to further links between NHS Highland and UHI.’