National Services Scotland at the heart of Scotland’s NHS

Understanding National Services Scotland and its partnership work.

The ALLIANCE recently established a partnership agreement with NHS National Services Scotland (NSS), setting out some of the opportunities for working together in realising our common aims.  For example, the ALLIANCE is working with NSS to support and strengthen the voice of lived experience by working to establish a lived experience network for people living with Long Covid.  Here, Strategic Partnerships Lead for NSS, Tom McHugh, describes a little more about the work of NSS.

What is National Services Scotland?

NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) provides national infrastructure services and solutions, which are integral to the delivery of health and care services in Scotland – locally, regionally and nationally.

What does National Services Scotland do?

Its national infrastructure is wide-ranging, covering clinical areas, such as the safe supply of blood, tissues and cells, through to non-clinical areas, such as providing essential digital platforms and cyber security for health and care.

NSS and the ALLIANCE are both invested in programmes of work to ensure digital health and social care developments are person-centred, innovative and continue to be informed by human rights and equalities considerations.

They are now working more widely across health and care, ensuring the benefits and value we achieve through our national solutions can help many different areas of frontline services to improve outcomes for the people of Scotland and attainment of the National Performance Framework goals.

Procurement was an example of NSS’s COVID-19 response: we have secured 6.5 million PPE items to support frontline NHS workers during the pandemic.

Why National Services Scotland is at the heart of Scotland’s NHS

Whilst NSS may have a range of different services and offerings, it is important to remember the ‘Once for Scotland’ approach. What their services have in common is the advantage the NHS gains by pooling resources. Driving innovation is central to the time and cost savings NSS offers NHS Scotland.

Beyond the NHS

From their own way of working, we know that collaboration brings better results than operating in isolation. They believe they can achieve more when we recognise that good health is connected to other things that happen in our lives.

NSS do this by:

• Enabling health and care transformation with new and innovative shared services
• Underpinning the work of NHS Scotland by providing excellent services
• Assisting other organisations involved in health and care.

That is why part of the NSS strategy involves a strand of work called Assist. The Assist programme creates partnerships with other public, third and independent sectors organisations, including local authorities; the emergency services; charitable organisations; and health and social care partnerships. Through these connections, we can make sure our national services are aligned with what the people of Scotland need at a regional and local level.

For example, NSS National Services Division colleagues supported the creation and launch of the Scottish Veteran’s Care Network (SVCN), The SVCN operates under a ‘Once for Scotland’ approach to deliver integrated, person-centred care. The objectives of the SVCN were agreed to bring together specialist care providers for veterans, professionals, veterans themselves, and voluntary groups.

Improving standards wherever possible and providing consistent veteran care fulfils the pledge of the Armed Forces Covenant and empowers Scotland’s 220,000-strong veterans’ community. It also enables positive wellbeing for veterans, their families and their wider communities.

The NHS depends on NSS to deliver for Scotland – for patients, families and communities. You can find out more about NSS on their website or via Twitter. For more information on Assist or how your organisation can work with NSS, please email Tom McHugh.

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