The case for single public authorities grows

10 June 2011

Audit Scotland's report into Community Health Partnerships represents a "damning indictment" according to CSPP Policy Director Ross Martin

"The NHS in Scotland is pervaded by a deep organisational inertia. Partnership is viewed as a bug to control rather than a cure to organisational ills".

"The real test of the new Scottish Government isn't whether it can push its policy proposals through the Parliament with its political majority, but whether it can use its moral majority to force the pace of change in the NHS".

"Our SPA work with the three island groupings offers the chance of a new remedy to organisational inertia, and the opportunity for Shetland, Orkney and the Comhairle to quicken the pace on their journeys of change, delivering significant benefits to their local communities through increased efficiency and service improvement".

Our SPA work was cited in the Audit Scotland report. It stated that we were examining options for the islands councils into (p22)

"public sector reform, bringing council, health and other public services into a single public body for each island authority."

Click here to read our report into single public authorities for the islands.