The 'Better Health, Better Care' strategy also sets out details of a package of measures which will deliver innovative and ambitious improvements to Scotland's primary care system over the next three years.

Launching the Action Plan, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing Nicola Sturgeon said: "Better Health, Better Care sets out a clear vision for the NHS in Scotland. It outlines the actions we will take to improve health, tackle health inequalities and enhance the quality of our healthcare services.

"One specific area of action is an ambitious package of improvements to our system of primary care - more flexible GP access; a development of the Keep Well model of anticipatory care; and easy, walk-in access to a range of primary care services - which will start to deliver the local and more preventive health service that we need to develop for the future.

"Our Action Plan has at its heart a strong commitment to participation and involvement: to the participation of patients as partners in their own care; and to the involvement of patients, the public and staff in the design and delivery of health services in the future."

The Cabinet Secretary said that the Action Plan would change the whole ethos of public and staff participation in the NHS. Ms Sturgeon said: "This Action Plan represents a new era for patient and public participation in our NHS. It represents a step change in the power, influence and voice that the Scottish public will have in our NHS. It recognises the public not just as consumers with rights, but as owners of the NHS, with rights and responsibilities. It represents a radical shift towards an NHS that is truly publicly owned.

"We've set out a clear vision of a mutual NHS where ownership and accountability is shared with the public and with NHS staff."

Over the next three years, the Government will take a number of steps towards a more mutual NHS in which patients, the public and staff are treated as partners in health and as co-owners of the NHS.

For example:

• The launch of a public consultation on proposals for inclusion in a Patients' Rights Bill by May 2008. This will cover waiting time guarantees and the right of patients to be treated as partners in their care
• Following public consultation, we will by the summer next year introduce a Local Healthcare Bill that will include proposals for direct elections to NHS Boards
• The production and distribution of an annual "ownership report" to every household in Scotland. This will set out the rights and responsibilities of patients and their carers alongside information on how to access local services and raise issues or complaints

On improving access to healthcare, the Action Plan stresses the importance that the public places on improved availability of primary care, and says that action is being taken to make access to GPs more flexible and appointments easier to book.

Ms Sturgeon also highlighted innovative moves to enhance the role of community pharmacies. She said: "No-one expects GP services to be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. But many patients - including those in some hard to reach groups - both want and would benefit from being able to see a GP before or after work or at the weekend. That is why we will work with professional bodies, NHS Boards and individual GP practices to provide a more accessible service which fits in with the lives of patients.

"This should involve more flexible access during existing contract hours as well as some extended hours opening.

"Community pharmacies also offer convenient access to primary care in High Streets and other convenient settings. By the end of March next year, we will establish five pilot projects in some of our biggest Health Board areas - Grampian, Greater Glasgow & Clyde, Lanarkshire, Lothian and Tayside - to provide walk-in access to a range of primary care services via community pharmacies.

"These pilots will be located at main commuter points, major shopping centres and inner city areas. They will provide extended hours walk-in access to a wide range of services, including nurse led minor injury treatments; sexual health screening; simple diagnostic tests; and some adult immunisations."

On the health of the nation, Ms Sturgeon said that while Scotland's health in general was improving, it was clear that there were still significant challenges to be faced in improving public health and tackling health inequalities. She said: "Just last month, the Chief Medical Officer for Scotland's Annual Report recognised that our health is improving, but that it is improving faster in the wealthiest sections of our society than it is in the poorest. As a result, health inequalities are widening. This government is clear that, in a country as rich as ours, that is simply not acceptable. That is why we have made tackling health inequalities our top health priority."

Summing up 'Better Health, Better Care', Ms Sturgeon said: "We have set out a plan for a National Health Service based on the values of collaboration and cooperation, not the whims of the market. We affirm a unified structure in which decisions are made in the interests of the people we serve and not by the demands of internal competition. A public service, used by the public, paid for by the public and owned by the public.

"Better Health, Better Care sets out a vision for a National Health Service that is not only true to its founding principles, but that has the confidence to extend those principles through a commitment to involving the public, patients and staff in shaping its future direction. It delivers a national health service for the Scottish nation - a truly Scottish Health Service."

The Action Plan has developed out of one of the most thorough and wide reaching consultation processes ever seen in Scotland. More than 2000 people took part in face to face discussions and we received around 600 written responses.

The Better Health, Better Care discussion document was published on August 16th, 2007.

Better Health, Better Care Action Plan

Full statement on the Health and Wellbeing Action Plan