Board Governance
Accountability of NHS Boards is clearly set out in the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978. NHS Boards are responsible through the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Sport to the Scottish Parliament for the safe, effective and person-centred delivery of services. Appointed by Scottish Ministers, Non-Executive Directors of NHS Boards, play an essential role in governing the quality and performance of the delivery of health and social care services to the people of Scotland.
NHS Boards are responsible for ensuring that the body delivers its functions in accordance with Scottish Ministers policies and priorities. This involves formulating strategy and setting out the strategic vision and purpose of the organisation. They hold the Executive to account for the delivery of strategy and ensure value for money. NHS Boards are also responsible for assuring that risks are managed and mitigated effectively.
To assist Boards in upholding the accountability function a range of resources and templates are available see Blueprint for Good Governance or Standard Documents for further details.
The Blueprint for Good Governance sets out the framework for best practice for NHS Scotland Health Boards. It gives an overview of what ‘Good Governance’ is and the key elements that work together to create a good governance system. The Second Edition of the Blueprint for Good Governance was published in December 2023 and supports the continuous improvement approach to governance.
NHS Scotland has some standard documents and procedures that are in place to support a ‘Once for Scotland’ approach. This approach is to align NHS Boards in their approach to governance and have been created in collaboration across NHS Scotland.
More documents will be added to this section once developed and approved.
Health Sponsorship is the activity that delivers effective relationships between the Scottish Government’s Directorate General Health and Social Care and NHS Scotland. Effective relationships help NHS Scotland and Scottish Government to collaborate and co-operate to deliver safe, person-centred and effective care to the people of Scotland.
Each NHS Board must operate within the Governance Framework (Clinical Governance, Financial Governance and Staff Governance). Staff Governance is the strand that looks at how staff are managed and how they feel they are being managed.
NHS Boards must be fraud aware and have counter fraud measures in place. Board members should have an understanding of the Counter Fraud Standard for NHS Scotland.
An integral part of Board Business is ensuring that the decisions made are right the first time and abide by the laws that underpin the Public Sector.
