Healthcare scientists are behind many of the diagnostic and treatment decisions that affect the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in Scotland each year. While healthcare scientists represent only around 5 per cent of the total workforce in NHS Scotland, almost 80 per cent of patient diagnoses can be attributed to their work.
Healthcare scientists represent a key expert resource of NHS Scotland in terms of the safe, accurate and effective deployment of science and technology used to diagnose and treat patients.
'Safe, Accurate and Effective: an action plan for healthcare science' the first policy document for healthcare science in Scotland, was launched on November 26, 2007 by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing.