Chamber and committees

Ministers established the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry to ensure families get the truth they deserve, and we are clear that changes to NHS structures will not impact on this. Our planned reforms to NHS structures are designed to improve NHS accountability, transparency and experiences for patients, and as is customarily the case in situations such as this the successor public body will inherit all rights, liabilities and obligations of the previous one. We will carefully consider all the findings and recommendations made by the independent Inquiry chair Lord Brodie, when the final report is published. Criminal investigations are a matter for Police Scotland.

In December 2017, the Scottish Government introduced a national cyber incident reporting procedure to support affected public sector bodies.

The Scottish Government cannot confirm the number of cyber attacks affecting NHS Scotland prior to 2018, as no equivalent national reporting arrangements were in place.

Information available from 2018 onwards is set out in the following table.

Ministers established the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry to ensure families get the truth they deserve, and we are clear that changes to NHS structures will not impact on this. Our planned reforms to NHS structures are designed to improve NHS accountability, transparency and experiences for patients. The Scottish Hospitals Inquiry held its final oral hearings in January 2026, and we now await Lord Brodie's final report. All evidence the Scottish Government has shared with the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry has been securely preserved and retained both by the Scottish Government and the Inquiry. This evidence remains accessible to the relevant investigatory and legal bodies, and the transition from 14 regional NHS boards to two strategic boards will not affect the existing secure preservation of this evidence.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is well prepared to deal with the range of risks present in communities across Scotland. SFRS responds to every emergency incident with the appropriate level of resources.

Responsibility for ensuring and monitoring effective safeguarding practice rests with local Child Protection Committees, local authorities and their child protection partners, operating within the national child protection framework. The Scottish Government considers evidence from a range of existing assurance, inspection and review activity to inform understanding of safeguarding arrangements. This includes the recently published National Review of Group-based Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation, which found that Chief Officers’ Groups reported confidence that education services had established policies, procedures, guidance and learning to identify children and young people at increased risk of significant harm.

Radiographers have an integral role in delivering cancer care. The number of qualified radiographers has increased by 3.5% in the last year, and 14.5% over the last five years. We recognise, however, that there are currently 141.8 WTE qualified radiography vacancies across Scotland.

The Scottish Government will work with NHS Boards and other partners in understanding where and how to increase the number of radiographers. Radiographers are involved in the diagnosis and treatment of a range of conditions, including cancer.

While the Scottish Government sets the strategic policy direction for the NHS in Scotland, operational matters including the funding and location of staffing are the responsibility of NHS Boards. We expect NHS boards to plan and provide safe, effective, and high-quality care, in line with their statutory service provision and workforce planning responsibilities. The Scottish Government has therefore not set targets for radiographer numbers year on year.

Scottish Government is providing record investment as set out in this year’s budget of almost £22.5 billion to health and social care in 2026-27.

As outlined in the Programme for Government, the Scottish Government will be engaging in an extensive dialogue over the next three months with partners in Local Government, across Parliament, and with stakeholders including representatives from local communities, to reach a clear shared direction about the future of local governance in Scotland. As part of this engagement, the Scottish Government will explore with Local Government partners the potential benefits of a regional model for local governance, while ensuring that decisions are taken at the most appropriate level.

The Scottish Government does not mandate a single national training programme recognising heart attacks in women for NHS Scotland staff. Decisions on workforce training and professional development are primarily a matter for individual NHS Boards, informed by national clinical guidance, professional standards and evidence-based practice.

NHS Scotland staff are supported through a range of clinical guidelines, professional education and evidence-based resources relating to the recognition, diagnosis and management of cardiovascular disease, including myocardial infarction. For example, NHS Inform provides dedicated information on women's heart health, including information on heart attack symptoms in women and the importance of seeking urgent treatment. NHS Inform also highlights that women may experience symptoms differently and may delay seeking help, emphasising the importance of recognising symptoms and accessing emergency care promptly.

The Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme team continue to support NHS Boards including NHS Forth Valley, NHS Borders and NHS Lanarkshire, with a focus on promoting best practice, supporting innovation in care pathways and advising how challenges in service delivery can be addressed.

Through the governance arrangements of the Scottish National Audit Programme, each Health Board is held to account for its performance against the stroke standards. Where performance is a negative outlier, the board is required are asked to produce an action plan which is reviewed after six months. These action plans also inform discussions during each Stroke Improvement Programme board review.

The Scottish Government has not undertaken a formal assessment of the implications for NHS Scotland of the Fifth Universal Definition of Myocardial Infarction published in August 2026.

The implications of updated international definitions, guidance and standards are considered, where appropriate, through established clinical governance, audit, coding and guideline development processes.