Health and Social Care Directorates


The Health and Social Care Directorates are a group of directorates of the Scottish Government. They are responsible for NHS Scotland, as well as policies on the development and implementation of health and social care.
The Chief Executive of NHS Scotland and Director-General of the Scottish Government's Health and Social Care Directorates is Caroline Lamb.
There is a direct relationship between Ministers and the Directorates, but this relationship is not consistent across the Government as there is often no direct read across to Ministerial portfolios from DGs. The activities of these Directorates are under the purview of the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care. He is assisted in this work by the Minister for Mental Wellbeing and Social Care, the Minister for Public Health and Women's Health and the Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy.

Structure

The current Directorates are:
As well as responsibility for the regional health boards of NHS Scotland, the Directorates also have responsibility for:
There are seven chief professional officers:
  • Chief Dental Officer – Tom Ferris
  • Chief Health Professions Officer – Carolyn McDonald
  • Chief Medical Officer – Dr Gregor Smith
  • Chief Midwifery Officer - Justine Craig
  • Chief Nursing Officer – Alex McMahon
  • Chief Pharmaceutical Officer - Professor Alison Strath
  • Chief Scientist – Professor Anna Dominiczak

    History

The Scottish Executive Health Department was created in 1999 from the former Scottish Office Health Department . The separate departments in the Scottish Government were abolished in 2007 and replaced with Directorates. In December 2010, the functions of the Health Directorates were taken on by the Health and Social Care Directorates.