Health and social care services are expected to transform after the Scottish Parliament passed 'landmark' joint working legislation.
Thought to be the most substantial reform to the country's National Health Services in a generation, the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Bill will require integrated health and social care provision.
Cabinet secretary for health and wellbeing, Alex Neil, said: 'We should never underestimate how many people rely on health and social care services to lead a healthy, full and happy life. By legislating to integrate of health and social care, we are setting out our rightly high and ambitious goal to ensure our public services put people at the centre of their care not the other way around.'
The Bill sets out the legislative framework for integrating health and social care, requiring councils and health boards to establish integrated partnership arrangements.
Each integrated partnership will be required to establish regional planning arrangements, while secondary legislation will establish national outcomes for health and wellbeing.
'This is a landmark health and social care reform for Scotland,' Neil added.
