Our latest news bulletin is packed with useful information for and about voluntary health organisations. Download it here. Or sign up to get it direct each month.

VHS welcome the newly published Scottish Government Strategy, A Connected Scotland which aims to tackle loneliness and social isolation in Scotland. This strategy will run from 2018 to 2026 and the Scottish Government will report biennially on its prog …

Scottish Government Minister Joe Fitzpatrick MSP addressed our evening reception in the Scottish Parliament Garden Lobby on 11th December, held to celebrate the work of the Cross Party Group on Health Inequalities. Mr Fitzpatrick  happily agreed to VHS …

Earlier this year VHS conducted an exercise in listening. We tried to explore the lived experience of loneliness and social isolation in Scotland and this exercise culminated in The Zubairi Report. The process aimed to give a voice to people who have b …

At our annual conference, Professor Sir Harry Burns talked to John Macgill of www.healthandcare.scot about the voluntary sector’s role in tackling despair. Here we publish the interview in full. Public policy continues to fail too many people in Scotla …

The Scottish Government and COSLA’s Public Health Reform aims to create “a Scotland where everybody thrives”. As part of this reform, the Improving Health Commission is looking into prioritising health as a human right, taking a Health in All Policies …

Download it here or Sign up to receive it direct each month.

In July 2018 VHS sent out a membership survey to its 156 member organisations. We received 73 completed surveys. 32 member organisations provided their details whilst 41 provided responded anonymously. The purpose of the survey was to get feedback on V …

Our new publication, The Zubairi Report: the lived experience of loneliness and social isolation in Scotland, is now available online. The qualitative study investigates the loneliness and social isolation experienced by under-represented demographics …

Whilst chairing VHS’s busy annual conference Get the Picture: Culture, Health and Wellbeing, Dr John Ennis took time out to catch up with me. Professor Sir Harry Burns’ opening keynote address focused on the importance of adopting a ‘what matters to yo …