Delivering a better health future for Scotland
On 5 March, the School of Medicine welcomed 170 delegates to St Andrews for the ‘Delivering a better health future for Scotland’ symposium and the biennial American Medical Alumni Lecture.
The symposium was part of the University’s Scotland’s Future Series and brought together key voices from across healthcare, policy and academia to address some of the most pressing challenges facing Scotland’s health and social care system. Speakers explored solutions in the areas of education, public health policy, and research and innovation.
The event opened with a warm welcome from Principal and Vice-Chancellor Professor Dame Sally Mapstone, DBE FRSE and Dean of Medicine and Head of School Professor Deborah Williamson.
Chief Medical Officer for Scotland, Professor Sir Gregor Smith delivered the first talk of the day. He identified health inequalities, long patient wait times, pressure on clinical staff, and the health impact of the climate crisis as some of the country’s most pressing population health challenges. He called for a “courageous” approach to public health policy that strongly emphasises primary prevention measures as a solution these issues.
Sir Gregor’s address was followed by series of insightful talks from members of the Scottish Government, NHS Fife, and several UK universities and research institutes, including the St Andrews School of Medicine. Speakers highlighted the importance of collaboration between universities, health boards, and local governments to secure the future of Scottish health and social care.
The event was further enriched by guest speakers from US healthcare organisations West Side United (WSU) and Medically Home, who shared their success in tackling local health inequalities via an ‘Anchor Strategy.’ Executive Director Ayesha Jaco and Senior Director for Programs and Evaluation Eve Shapiro shared how health collaborative WSU has helped address such disparities in Chicago’s West Side neighbourhood by encouraging local hiring and investment by ‘anchor institutions,’ large and economically influential organisations such as universities, hospitals, or corporations. Dr Linda DeCherrie, Vice President for Clinical Strategy and Implementation at Medically Home, outlined how ‘hospital at home’ services relieve pressure on inpatient settings and support the local economy by sourcing supplies and services from community businesses. At the end of the conference, student, ECR, and staff prizes for the best poster were awarded to ScotGEM students Dan Martin, Ceciley MacGregor, Heather Sheriffs, and Laura Rak (‘The secret life of statins: Increasing statin prescription in diabetic patients’); PhD student and Research Fellow Katrin Metsis (‘A Scottish e-cohort for public health research: Capturing Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) and health data from smart devices’); and Director of Postgraduate Education and Senior Lecturer Dr Veronica O’ Carroll (‘Virtual reality or virtual unreality? Medical educators’ perspectives on the feasibility and potential of VR in community-based medical education’).
The day concluded with the American Medical Alumni Lecture delivered by Professor Sir Michael Marmot, Professor of Epidemiology at University College London (UCL) and Director of the UCL Institute of Health Equity. This lecture series is supported by the American Medical Alumni Fund, instituted by the Council of the Faculty of Science in 1975-76 to make use of the donations from American medical graduates of the University of St Andrews. Sir Michael, who has led research groups on health inequalities for nearly 50 years, offered an engaging summary of his prolific research on evidence-based strategies for tackling these challenges.
Reflecting on the day, Prof. Williamson said: “The quality of discussions, depth of expertise shared, and the enthusiastic engagement from delegates were all remarkable. It was particularly rewarding to see the impact of medical education, research, and partnerships so clearly recognised, reinforcing the vital role we play here in shaping the future of healthcare in Scotland and beyond. I look forward building on the momentum from this though-provoking event in the months ahead.”