Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland Responds to Scottish Government Announcement on Community Health Expansion 28 October 2025 We welcome the Scottish Government’s renewed commitment to strengthening community health services. Today’s announcement could mark a vital step toward building a more inclusive healthcare system – one that better serves the 1 in 5 people across Scotland living with chest, heart, stroke conditions and Long Covid. But if we are serious about transforming Scotland’s health, we must go further. This is a pivotal opportunity to embed third sector services into NHS pathways and unlock the full potential of partnership working across primary care, community care and social care. As highlighted at yesterday’s NHS 2048 Conference, which CHSS proudly co-hosted, the key to improved health and social care delivery is collaboration, and crucially, implementation. While increased investment in primary care and GP provision is evidently needed, it must be matched by action to improve integrated care and support for long-term health conditions. We would hope this funding will support critical staff such as Community Link Workers and be directed at communities where the barriers to good health are most felt. CHSS already delivers life-changing support built on evidence-based self management and rehabilitation. Our services help people live well with long-term conditions, but too often, they sit outside formal NHS pathways. That must change. We urge the government to: Recognise the third sector as a strategic partner, not a peripheral provider, with funding, infrastructure and policy alignment to match Guarantee rehabilitation access for every patient, with rolling reviews and integrated support from community and voluntary sector partners Adapt referral models like Diagnosis Connect, enabling NHS teams to refer directly to trusted third sector providers at the point of diagnosis or discharge Scotland’s voluntary health sector is ready. CHSS is one organisation with the capacity, expertise and reach to support people where they live – in their homes, communities and workplaces.