VHS Policy News

November 2025

Dear Colleague,

I hope you enjoy reading our November Policy News as much as I enjoyed writing it! We have so much to share this month, not least our exciting new social research project on gender and health. Member manifestos are also coming in thick and fast ahead of next year’s election, providing lots of important asks to ponder.

Sarah Latto, Policy and Public Affairs Lead

Get Involved!

Gender and Health Social Research Project

We have recently launched an exciting new VHS social research project and invite all of our members and stakeholders to get involved.

The research will explore the relationship between health and gender identity, with a particular focus on health inequalities related to gender. It will also explore how gendered experiences of health intersect with other forms of identity, including sexuality, race, ethnicity, age, income and caring status. The aim is for this research to inform our policy influence work on health inequalities related to gender, and the importance of prioritising health equity.

There are several ways to get involved, including consultation events in the next few weeks, a survey closing at the end of this month, and the option to request a 1-1 chat.

Find out more here!

Consultation: NHS Delivery

We plan to respond to the open Scottish Government consultation regarding a new national NHS delivery body, closing on the 30th November. In our response, we will highlight the need for any new body to prioritise prevention, and for it to engage with the whole health system, not just the NHS.

If you have any insights or evidence you would like to share on this, please get in touch by Friday 21^st November.

VHS Annual Conference

We hosted our Annual Conference on the 28th October in Glasgow and, whilst the theme was 'Collaboration for Change', policy was a golden thread running through the event.

Jenni Minto MSP, Minister for Public Health and Women's Health, provided a recorded message with a rallying call for support in increasing vaccine uptake. Professor Devi Sridhar provided a global health policy outlook, built on by Johanna Davidson from WCVA who shared how Welsh civil society is influencing decision-making around health and social care.

Professor Nicola McEwen from the Centre for Public Policy provided an excellent overview of the current political landscape, and Dr Audrey MacDougall, the Scottish Government's Chief Social Researcher, explored the role of research and data in tackling health inequalities.

Finally, two panels, led by Manira Ahmad from Public Health Scotland and Billy McClean from Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership, explored the real impact of policy decisions on the frontline.

Read the Key messages from the conference here!

Manifesto for Health Creation

Since the launch of our Manifesto early last month we have had lots of great feedback from VHS members and policymakers alike. The Manifesto has been sent to all MSPs, the policy leads of every Scottish political party, and many relevant contacts in the Scottish Government. We have a number of meetings in the pipeline to discuss our manifesto asks in more detail in the weeks ahead.

Consultation Response: Quality Prescribing for Chronic Pain

In our response to the Scottish Government’s consultation on Quality Prescribing for Chronic Pain guidance, we welcome the recognition of social prescribing as an effective non-pharmacological approach for treating chronic pain. However, we also advise caution in referring to social prescribing models in clinical guidance without recognising the considerable challenges many social prescribing services are facing at present.

Read our response here here here

Population Health Framework and Service Renewal Framework: Implementation Update

In June this year, the Scottish Government launched two key Frameworks for the reform of Scotland’s health and social care landscape. Since then, VHS has been involved in discussions with partners to inform the implementation of these frameworks.

Last month, Tejesh Mistry, VHS Chief Executive, and I attended a workshop hosted by Public Health Scotland exploring the ‘implementation gap’ in health policy and how best to overcome this. Tejesh is also attending the first meeting of the Population Health Framework Programme Board later this month.

A number of suggestions have also been made to Public Health Scotland and the Scottish Government through the Third Sector Collaborative regarding the meaningful engagement of the third sector in decision-making around these frameworks.

Cross Party Group (CPG) on Health Inequalities

VHS provide the secretariat for the CPG on Health Inequalities, and the next meeting will take place on the 26^th January, 10-11.30am with a theme of Gender and Health. To find out more about the CPG, including how to become a member and attend this meeting, please get in touch.

Wider Policy Developments and Publications

The following is a summary of relevant policy developments, but it is not an exhaustive list. Please contact me if you want to speak about something not listed here.

Member and Stakeholder Manifestos

Many of our members will be publishing manifestos ahead of the Scottish parliament election in May next year. This bulletin will share a selection each month. If you would like your manifesto to be shared in this bulletin, please send it to me.

Below is a selection of the manifestos we have been sent.

Neil Gray provides additional information on announcements made at SNP conference

Neil Gray has written to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee to provide additional information on the Scottish Government announcements about support for displaced social care workers and primary care walk-in centres.

Scottish Government confirms nationwide review into maternity services

A nationwide review of maternity services in Scotland has been confirmed following a series of concerning reports across several health boards. The ALLIANCE and Engender have responded to the announcement.

PHS study confirms HPV vaccine protection against cervical disease

A new study by Public Health Scotland, in collaboration with the universities of Edinburgh and Strathclyde, has confirmed that the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine provides strong ongoing protection against cervical disease that can develop into cancer.

Additional £25.5m in funding announced for Scottish health boards

The Scottish Government has announced that health boards will receive an additional £25.5m this year to allow them to deliver more planned care appointments and procedures to reduce long waits for patients.

Obesity medication study announced for Scotland’s deprived communities

The UK Government has announced that thousands of people from across some of Scotland’s most deprived communities will be invited to take part in research looking at the real-world impact of weight-loss medicines.

New Programme to prevent Type 2 Diabetes

The Scottish Government has announced a new programme which is expected to prevent up to 4,000 people from developing type 2 diabetes. The Programme will offer virtual, app-based, consultations with nutritionists, dietitians and health coaches.

Concerns about Data on Secondary and Recurrent Cancer

Breast Cancer Now, a VHS member, has warned that Scotland lacks 'comprehensive data' on cases where breast cancer has spread to other parts of the body, despite Government commitments in 2016 to improve data collection on secondary and recurrent cancers.

New Data Shows Rise in Patient-GP Surgery Contact

Statistics released by Public Health Scotland, show that patients in Scotland had 33.98 million direct encounters with staff in General Practice between October 2024 and September 2025 – an increase of 2.4 million on the same 12-month period in 2023-24.

Relevant Consultations

Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill - Scottish Parliament – Closes Friday 14^th November

NHS Delivery - a new national delivery organisation to lead transformation across our health and social care system - Scottish Government consultations - Closes Sunday 30^th November

That's all for this month! If you have any questions in the meantime, or suggestions for future editions of this bulletin, please get in touch!