SPENDING on the NHS in Scotland has risen by almost a quarter in real terms over the last decade, figures show.
Data from Public Health Scotland shows £17.2 billion was spent on health service operating costs in 2023-24 – up from £16bn the previous year.
After accounting for inflation, real-terms spending rose by 1.1% over the year – and was 24.6% higher than it was in 2013-14.
However, the report also found that with £3.7bn spent on community health services, real-terms funding for this had decreased by 1.2% in 2023-24 – the second year in a row spending in this area had fallen in real terms.
More than half of NHS spending went on hospital-based services – £9.7bn which accounted for 56.5% of total spending in 2023-24.
This means spending on hospital services has risen by 11.4% in real terms since 2019-20, Public Health Scotland found.
Spending on family health services – such as running local GP surgeries, dental and ophthalmic services, prescriptions and local pharmacies – has increased by 3.9% in real terms since 2013-14.
Spending in this area amounted to £3.3bn in 2023-24, with Public Health Scotland saying funding rises for this sector were “considerably less” than for hospital services.
NHS staffing costs in both the hospital and community sectors accounted for £9bn last year – up by £725 million on the previous year.
Staffing costs made up just over half (52.2%) of total operating costs, with this total having risen even year since 2017-18, when it stood at 47.6%.
Public Health Scotland said: “This is due in part to increasing numbers of staff, and also larger annual pay awards in recent years in response to general inflation.”
