On 1 September 2026, First Minister John Swinney announced plans to reform public services across Scotland as part of the Programme for Government for 2026 – 2031.
This includes plans to replace the current 14 territorial Health Boards with two Strategic Health Boards and further reduce the number of special Health Boards. There are also plans to reform local government, including social care services, as well as significantly reduce the number of public sector organisations across Scotland.
Planning for these changes is still at an early stage and further information, including details of the transition arrangements and timescales, will be shared as soon as these are confirmed.
NHS Forth Valley remains committed to providing high-quality services for local people while supporting staff throughout this period of change.
As part of this, Ross McGuffie, Chief Executive, held a number of initial staff briefing sessions in September 2026 and further online sessions are planned on the following dates:-
- Tuesday 25 November 2026 from 12:30-1:30
- Thursday 14 January 2027 from 12:30-1:30
- Thursday 25 March 2027 from 12:30-1:30
In addition, a new section on NHS Reform has been created on the Staff Intranet with links to relevant documents and Q&As. This page will be regularly updated as additional information becomes available.
