This website is now part of Public Health Scotland. Publications released after 16 March 2020 are now published on the Public Health Scotland website.
Improving health
Previously NHS Health Scotland

Welcome to NHS Health Scotland’s blog. Blog posts are written by our staff, partners and stakeholders. Opinions expressed are those of contributors and do not necessarily reflect the organisation’s views.


Showing 22 results


  • Farewell from Gerry McLaughlin

    • 23 Mar 2020
    • Corporate
    • Gerry McLaughlin, Chief Executive

    Our final blog comes from our CEO Gerry McLaughlin who retires from NHS Health Scotland on 31 March. Gerry reflects on our legacy and looks forward to a new era under Public Health Scotland.

  • Andrew Pulford, Public Health Intelligence Adviser, blogs about our recently developed health and social care inequality indicators and the importance of viewing health data from different perspectives.


  • Human rights are for life, not just for Christmas

    • 17 Dec 2019
    • ACEs
    • Katy Hetherington, Organisational Lead - Childhood Adversity

    As we draw to a close on the year the UNCRC turned 30, we blog about making rights meaningful in the daily lives of children and families.


  • The F-words: you can’t have one without the other

    • 27 Nov 2019
    • Immunisation
    • Jessica Craig

    Earlier this month we were invited to speak at the European Public Communication (EuroPCom) Conference in Brussels about Scotland’s work to tackle inequalities in immunisation uptake. Read about why facts and feelings both matter when we are communicating with the public.


  • Everyone has a right to safe, healthy and happy relationships

    • 22 Oct 2019
    • Gender based violence
    • Kevin Campbell, Senior Health Improvement Officer

    People with learning disabilities have a right to engage in personal and sexual relationships, in a safe, healthy and happy way. With the right support and education, they can. We blog about improving the service response to women with learning disabilities who experience abuse.


  • Stop scrolling, start strolling

    • 25 Sep 2019
    • Physical activity
    • Brendan Paddy, Director of Ramblers Scotland

    As the RSPH social-media free campaign ‘Scroll Free September’ draws to a close, Brendan Paddy (Director of Ramblers Scotland) blogs about how building everyday walking into our lives can take us away from the little worlds inside our screens, and strengthen our real connections with family, friends and colleagues.


  • We can’t have one without the other

    • 18 Sep 2019
    • Housing
    • Matt Lowther, Head of Place and Equity

    In a vibrant, modern Scotland it should be possible for everyone to be as healthy as they can be. On Scottish Housing Day, we blog about housing as a human right.


  • A more compassionate Scotland: a societal response to childhood adversity

    • 23 Aug 2019
    • ACEs
    • Katy Hetherington, Organisational Lead - Childhood Adversity

    In the absence of healthy relationships there is a tendency to be excluded instead of understood. We blog about the need to improve people's lives today - as well as influence the world that children will grow up in - as part of a societal response to childhood adversity.


  • Soft skills at the hardest of times

    • 24 Jul 2019
    • Mental health
    • Carly Grant, Senior Health Improvement Officer

    Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the perinatal period. On Samaritans Awareness Day, Carly Grant from our Public Mental Health Team blogs about the importance of soft skills at the hardest of times.


  • It all matters for population health

    • 16 May 2019
    • Health inequality
    • Dr Gerry McCartney, Head of Scottish Public Health Observatory

    Head of ScotPHO, Dr Gerry McCartney blogs about why politics, economics and policy all matter for population health.