Over the past year NHS Scotland and its partners across health and social care have once again risen to the many challenges and pressures during this unprecedented time in dealing with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Health and social care colleagues have been extraordinary in their response to increased demands and have often had to deliver services in innovative and sometimes unfamiliar ways. Community health and social care teams have adapted their services to support as many people as possible in their own homes, working in closer and more integrated ways.

The collaborative response of local public health teams in continuing to deal with the difficulties of this pandemic, while remobilising essential services, has been outstanding.

Of course, we know that there is a long journey ahead to recover from the effects that COVID-19 has had, not only on the effective delivery of services but on the mental health and wellbeing of both patients and staff. The effects of which will be felt for a long time, and we cannot underestimate the significant challenges that lie ahead.

The process and road to recovery must have at its heart an acknowledgment and understanding of the challenges of the last year and more. The NHS Scotland Event 2022 will focus on how we can address these challenges by focusing on our priorities and building on our successes while working collaboratively to deliver the highest quality person-centred, safe and effective integrated care for every individual in Scotland.

We have made incredible progress over the past year, in particular the effective and rapid roll out of the vaccination programme, not to mention the significant innovative advances of the delivery of care. However, the impact of addressing the COVID-19 pandemic has meant that many health and care services have had to be suspended or reduced in scope and scale and as a result, there are many people who are waiting longer for the care they need.

Addressing this backlog of care, while continuing to meet the ongoing urgent health and care needs of the country, is the central aim of the overall recovery and reform agenda.

We must also continue to face up to the fact that this pandemic has exposed and exacerbated deep-rooted health and social inequalities in Scotland. A key focus of the Event will look at how we will act to mitigate these and ensure that services are provided in a way that is proportionate to need, and how we can support those that are most vulnerable (socially and clinically) in our society.

While it is important to stress that recovery is the immediate task, the overall agenda is about ensuring that the process of recovery also delivers long term sustainability. That is why service innovation and redesign – as well as creating additional capacity – is central to this.

There is no doubt that transformational change is needed in order to deliver safe, affordable and sustainable services in a post-Covid world, especially as demand continues to rise. The Event will explore how we can work towards transforming the way care is delivered in an effective and sustainable way. The task ahead will be challenging and will take time to be fully realised, but with the right support and collective approach across our health and social care system, we can deliver our priorities and maintain a sustainable recovery for the people of Scotland.