Healthcare science: redefining our workforce
The approach we will take to redefine the healthcare science workforce in Scotland. This sets out a strengthened identity and leadership model for healthcare science.
Executive Summary
This paper, Healthcare Science in Scotland: Redefining Our Workforce, is the second publication in the Healthcare Science in Scotland series. It builds upon the strategic vision set out in the March 2024 publication, Healthcare Science in Scotland: Defining Our Strategic Approach. It aims to redefine the healthcare science (HCS) workforce in Scotland to ensure it is visible, valued, and empowered so that it can better meet the evolving needs of the population and health system now and in the future.
Healthcare scientists play a vital role in delivering safe, effective, and innovative care across NHS Scotland. Their expertise spans diagnostics, treatment, data science, and technological innovation. However, the profession has historically lacked a unified identity, limiting its visibility and integration into strategic planning.
This paper sets out a clear framework to strengthen the professional identity of healthcare scientists, including:
- A single national definition of a healthcare scientist in Scotland
- Redefined professional groupings: Engineering Sciences, Health Informatics Sciences, Laboratory Sciences, Physical & Imaging Sciences, and Physiological Sciences
- Refined levels of practice, to support workforce planning and career development
A key outcome of this work is the instruction from the Chief Scientific Officer and Scottish Ministers that each territorial NHS Board appoint a substantive Scientific Director. This dedicated leadership for healthcare science is essential to ensure that the profession’s expertise informs decisions that directly impact the quality and safety of care across the health system in Scotland.
The paper also aligns healthcare science with wider health policy, such as the Scottish Government’s Service Renewal Framework, highlighting the role of the profession in advancing prevention, digital transformation, personalised care, and population health planning.
Through national engagement, collaboration, and logic modelling, this publication provides a roadmap for embedding healthcare science at the core of the NHS in Scotland. It provides a framework for systemic change, improved workforce data, and strengthened leadership to unlock the full potential of the scientific workforce in Scotland.