From 'Sick Man' to 'Living Lab': The Narrative of Scottish Health Since Devolution

The road to the independence referendum may have begin with devolution in the late 1990s, but a key question is: what have been the impacts on health and clinical research since the process of devolution was initiated? This paper identifies and interrogates the change of narratives, relevant to the health debate under devolution, which frames discussions around potential Scottish independence. Pre-devolution there is a strong sense of Scotland as having unique health problems and hence, the 'sick man of Europe' label, which required policy responses from the devolved government. Under devolution,, this engendered a second narrative built around the 'living lab' concept. Our key question is how did the 'living lab' concept and the pulling together of a health and wealth agenda emerge from the narrative of Scotland as the 'sick man of Europe'?