The CMO’s annual report for 2022/2023 is now live.

Realistic Medicine: Doing the Right Thing is the CMO’s third annual report, and the seventh 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 – Being Human: explains the four concurrent challenges our health and care system faces and the need to move away from industrialised care and focus on caring with compassion;

• Chapter 2 – Value Based Health & Care: Sustainable Care that Matters: Proposes that if we really wish to improve the lives of the people we care for. It’s time for health and care professionals to fully adopt practising Realistic Medicine as the way in which we can contribute to a healthier, more sustainable, fairer Scotland;

• Chapter 3 – Health Inequalities: Turning the Tide: highlights the main drivers of health and health inequalities lie outside of healthcare. Health is affected by policies and decisions in all sectors. This means that to improve health and reduce inequalities, we need to work across policy areas to ensure all policies are designed to maximise benefits to health and prevent any risks to health. Health and care professionals must also continue to coordinate efforts within health and social care and work across other sectors to help address the wider determinants of health.

• Chapter 4 – Climate & Health: Planet and People in Partnership: The climate emergency affects those who are already most vulnerable in society are least able to protect themselves against the impacts of adverse events. This chapter sets out the role of health and social care leaders in tackling the Climate Crisis, and how practising Realistic Medicine can deliver better value care, improve the resilience of our health and care system by reducing waste and potential harm and redirect resource that is currently wasted to higher value, greener, more sustainable care.

• Appendix 1 – The Health of our Nation: highlights the unmet healthcare needs of our population following the COVID-19 pandemic.