The CMO’s annual report for 2023/2024 is now live.

Realistic Medicine: Taking Care – People, Planet, Progress, is the CMO’s fourth annual report, and the eighth on Realistic Medicine. The overarching aim of Realistic Medicine is to deliver better value care for patients, and for our health and care system.

Chapter 1: Taking Care of our people – discusses care as a concept that goes far beyond the boundaries of healthcare alone. Our aim of health and care professionals must be the enrichment of life if we are to improve health and wellbeing. Through careful and kind care, we can promote more sustainable healthcare for the people we care for, our communities and help reduce the impact of healthcare on our environment.

Chapter 2: Taking Care of Our Planet – discusses the ongoing planetary crisis and the threats to humanity that stem from it. Mitigating and adapting to the planetary crisis must be our number one concern as we work towards our climate-resilient, low-carbon, equitable and sustainable health and care system of the future. We must act quickly, collectively and decisively.

Chapter 3: Taking Care of Progress – in this chapter, the CMO celebrates the 50^th anniversary of the Chief Scientist Office (CSO), research and innovation in Scotland, and how it continues to help the way we care, and the people we care for, to flourish.

Chapter 4: Health of the Nation – sets out in depth the main factors driving inequalities in our society.