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Decision on health board HQs
27/08/2007
Three of NHS Scotland's Special Health Boards are to retain their headquarter functions in Edinburgh, it was announced today.
Public Health Minister Shona Robison said the decison would free more than £20 million for investment in frontline services.
The decision affects NHS Health Scotland (HS), NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (QIS) and NHS Education for Scotland (NES), all of which will not now transferred to Glasgow as recommended by a location review in July 2005.
The existing Glasgow-based staff of a fourth Special Health Board, NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) and those existing Glasgow-based staff from QIS, NES and HS would remain in Glasgow.
Ahead of the HS annual review, Ms Robison said:
"To pursue the decision to move the HQs of three NHS Boards would cost around £22 million. We believe that this is not the best use of resources during what will be a tight financial settlement period. £22 million will be better invested in front line services and in tackling health inequalities - a particularly big challenge in the city of Glasgow.
"It is also the case that staff at these organisations have faced more than two years of uncertainty about the future location of their jobs.
"The new Scottish government did not want the Boards to go through another round of annual reviews without the issue of their future HQ location plans being resolved.
"Today I am able to remove any uncertainty by announcing that the HQ functions of HS, QIS and NES will remain in Edinburgh and that Glasgow-based NSS staff - as well as the Glasgow-based staff of the other three boards - will continue to be based in Glasgow.
"This decision was very much based on the specific operational needs of the Boards concerned and the considerable saving in financial resources that can be better used on front line health services."
Following a location review three Special Health Boards (NES, QIS and HS) which have their Head Offices located in Edinburgh were advised in July 2005 that these Head Office functions should be transferred from Edinburgh to Glasgow. Subsequently it was proposed that these Boards should co-locate with NSS staff who were already based in Glasgow.