Cabinet Secretary's video message

Sixty years ago – on the fifth of July 1948 – our National Health Service came into being.

Most of us have only ever known a Scotland that has an NHS. A high quality publicly owned, service which is free to everyone at the point of delivery.

Some Scots will remember the days when seeing a doctor was a hard choice. Sometimes a choice between medicine and food. That kind of choice is inconceivable to us today, but it was a reality here once – and is still the reality for many people in the world. That’s why we must never take our health service for granted.

There has been so much change over these 60 years. The NHS now provides a vast range of services and complex treatments not even conceivable then – artificial hips, life-saving drugs, kidney and heart transplants. Tuberculosis and the old killer diseases of childhood have been virtually eliminated.

This could not have happened without the skill and dedication of NHS staff across Scotland. From nurses, doctors, porters, medical secretaries to cleaners and physiotherapists, the list is virtually endless. Their contributions have been tireless and we owe them a debt of gratitude for the work they continue to do every hour and every day to deliver our health service.

Scotland has made unique contributions to improving health internationally. It also provided earlier state-funded models for the NHS.

We have much to be proud of. It is important that people know the story of our health service and that will help us look to the future.

We have to find ways to build on progress, push boundaries and meet the real challenges that face us.

I want to see the Scottish people and NHS staff become real partners – co-owners – of the health service. I want to see an NHS which makes real inroads into health inequalities – where people from poorer backgrounds can live as long as those from wealthy backgrounds. Above all, I want to see a health service that constantly strives to improve health and social justice in this country.

Sixty years ago – on the fifth of July 1948 – our National Health Service came into being.

Most of us have only ever known a Scotland that has an NHS. A high quality publicly owned, service which is free to everyone at the point of delivery.

Some Scots will remember the days when seeing a doctor was a hard choice. Sometimes a choice between medicine and food. That kind of choice is inconceivable to us today, but it was a reality here once – and is still the reality for many people in the world. That’s why we must never take our health service for granted.

There has been so much change over these 60 years. The NHS now provides a vast range of services and complex treatments not even conceivable then – artificial hips, life-saving drugs, kidney and heart transplants. Tuberculosis and the old killer diseases of childhood have been virtually eliminated.

This could not have happened without the skill and dedication of NHS staff across Scotland. From nurses, doctors, porters, medical secretaries to cleaners and physiotherapists, the list is virtually endless. Their contributions have been tireless and we owe them a debt of gratitude for the work they continue to do every hour and every day to deliver our health service.

Scotland has made unique contributions to improving health internationally. It also provided earlier state-funded models for the NHS.

We have much to be proud of. It is important that people know the story of our health service and that will help us look to the future.

We have to find ways to build on progress, push boundaries and meet the real challenges that face us.

I want to see the Scottish people and NHS staff become real partners – co-owners – of the health service. I want to see an NHS which makes real inroads into health inequalities – where people from poorer backgrounds can live as long as those from wealthy backgrounds. Above all, I want to see a health service that constantly strives to improve health and social justice in this country.