New duty on NHS boards to consult and involve the public and patients in decision making. NHS boards must support and enable patients and the public to take part in this process. Scottish Health Council monitors whether this is happening by taking part in the annual assessment of NHS boards as part of the NHS accountability review process. Scottish Health Council feeds back the concerns and views of patients to NHS bodies as part of its feedback function. Scottish Health Council has power to support groups of patients whose voice might not otherwise be identified or heard. This is already a function of the NHS Quality Improvement Scotland generic clinical governance standards. Through its input to the NHS Accountability Process, the Scottish Health Council will be able to contribute directly and effectively to the developing NHS quality agenda. NHS Quality Improvement Scotland plays the lead role in the monitoring of services. Lay reviewers are always included in reviews of services. Once again the Scottish Health Council's place at the heart of the NHS quality improvement and inspection process will allow it to contribute directly to this work NHS Boards are required to develop effective advice and information services for the people they serve. The Scottish Health Council's role will be to monitor the effectiveness of these services as part of the national accountability review process. A Scottish Health Council function. It is the responsibility of all NHS bodies and the Scottish Executive Health Department to have proactive mechanisms to support the engagement of the public, patients, carers, groups and communities in their work and to demonstrate that they have listened to and acted upon their views. The Scottish Health Council as a national body will be in a strong position to assess the extent to which the NHS throughout Scotland is listening and responding to patients and the public. |