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Health and Care Experience Survey 2025/26

October 22, 2025 by Office of the Chief Statistician No Comments | Category Health and social care

This week marks the start of fieldwork for the Health and Care Experience Survey 2025/26. It’s a vital opportunity to hear from people across Scotland about their experiences of the local health and care services they need or receive, and any caring responsibilities they may have.

The survey is run in partnership with Public Health Scotland (PHS) and is sent to a random sample of people registered with a GP practice. If you are invited to take part, please take the time to complete this survey as your views are very important to us.

Why your response matters

The survey gathers insights into a wide range of experiences from accessing GP services and support with everyday living, to the support available for unpaid carers. These responses are used by health boards, local authorities, and the Scottish Government to understand what’s working well and where improvements are needed. In short, your views help drive change.

The survey is an essential source of information available on unmet or under met care needs. Even if you haven’t used health and care services recently, we’d still like you to complete the survey. To plan health and care services effectively, we need to understand not just who is using them, but also who isn’t and who is finding it difficult to access services.

By completing the survey, you’re helping us:

• Identify gaps in access to health and care services
• Understand how different groups experience care
• Help ensure services are designed for everyone, not just those who already use them

Where to find more information

You can find full details about the survey including the privacy notice, survey materials, and previous results on the Scottish Government website. It’s a great resource if you’re curious about how the survey works or you want to explore past findings.

What happens next

The national results will be published in spring 2026. These will include:

• A comprehensive national report
• Supporting data tables and spreadsheets
• An interactive dashboard for exploring the results

We’re always looking to improve how we present and share findings. If you have feedback on previous reporting, or suggestions for this year’s outputs, we’d love to hear from you. You can contact our team directly by email.

How the data is used

Beyond headline results, the survey data supports a wide range of analysis. For example, we recently published innovative work using the data to estimate unmet need for care, support and help with everyday living amongst those aged 65+ helping to inform planning and policy decisions at both local and national levels.

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