18 November 2025

We were delighted to welcome members of the public, partner organisations and our staff to our Annual Review last Thursday at The Great Tapestry of Scotland, Galashiels. Many more people joined us online, and it was encouraging to see such strong engagement both in person and virtually - a true reflection of our local community’s continued interest in our work and priorities as a health board.

The review was chaired by our Vice Chair, Fiona Sandford, who outlined our performance over the past year and shared our key areas of focus for the year ahead. Her presentation covered progress against our strategy deliverables and social compact, updates on waiting times, developments within our Primary Care Improvement Plan (PCIP) and a celebration of our staff’s incredible achievements and awards over the last year.

Following the presentation, an open question-and-answer session with our board members took place, which provided an opportunity for staff and the public to share their views and raise the issues that matter most to them. Questions from the public focused on several important themes, including:

•            Access to our Hospital at Home services

•            Opportunities for enhanced partnership working with third sector organisations

•            Access to appointments and how we are working to improve this

•            Patient transport, including challenges and future considerations

The Annual Review provides a formal opportunity to listen directly to our communities and to discuss how we can continue to improve the services we provide. The perspectives shared during the session will inform our ongoing work and future planning.

Commenting on the event, Fiona said: “We were really pleased with the strong turnout at our Annual Review, both in person and online. The questions we received from the floor were both thoughtful and insightful, which is a reflection of the public’s interest in our services and plans for the future. The event was an important part of our ongoing commitment to engaging with our communities, and we look forward to continuing these two-way conversations throughout the year ahead and beyond.”

For those who did not manage to attend our Annual Review, a recording of the meeting is available to view here.