Building the Right Decision Service as a shared national service

RDS Learning and support

In December 2025, NHS Board Chief Executives agreed a shared funding approach to make the Right Decision Service (RDS) a permanent Once for Scotland service. 

What this means in practice is: 

  • In 2026–27, NHS Boards will jointly fund 50% of RDS costs, with Scottish Government funding the rest 
  • From 2027–28 onwards, Boards will take on full funding responsibility 

Chief Executives have asked Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) to lead a programme of work to make sure RDS is on a strong, sustainable footing, with shared ownership across Boards and a clear role in supporting national priorities for health and social care renewal and transformation. 

 

We’re now getting started on the programme of work agreed with Chief Executives. Key work strands are: 

A review of RDS technology

The RDS team has commissioned Spyrosoft, an independent technology company, to carry out a review of RDS’s current and future technology needs. 

The aim is to make sure RDS: 

  • has robust and sustainable digital foundations 
  • fits well with Scotland’s wider health and care digital and data landscape 
  • continues to deliver value for users and the system as a whole 

The review will look across the full RDS landscape, including: 

  • the RDS website and mobile app 
  • how decision support links into patient record systems 
  • pharmacogenomics decision support 
  • the national PROMs platform currently in development 
  • the planned date of discharge decision support used by multidisciplinary teams 

 

It will compare our current approach with UK and international best practice, and look at the costs, risks and benefits of alternative technology options. 

 

Thank you to everyone who has agreed to take part in interviews with the Spyrosoft team – your insights into how RDS is used in practice, and what could work better, are a vital part of this review. 

Shaping the next three years: RDS strategy 2027–2030

Looking ahead, HIS will bring together an RDS Strategy Steering Group to develop a new three-year strategy. 

This will set out: 

  • a shared vision for RDS 
  • how it supports national service renewal and population health priorities 
  • how national, regional and local work can better align around RDS 
  • an implementation plan and evaluation framework to ensure that the strategy delivers the intended benefits. 

 

The aim is for this to act as a helpful template for Boards and Subnational Planning Groups as they develop their own local strategies. 

 

Please contact ann.wales3@nhs.scot if you would like any further details on the RDS work programme 2026-27.