Freedom of Information – Reported breaches of ECHR legislation: September 2026
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Request
Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
In your email of 09 July 2026, you asked:
Under the Human Rights Act 1998, public authorities like Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) in Scotland must act compatibly with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). While Healthcare Improvement Scotland is a public body required to respect these rights, its specific duty to report breaches varies by Article:
Article 2 (Right to life) & Article 3 (Prohibition of torture, inhuman or degrading treatment): When there is a credible risk to life or safety in a care setting, the State has a positive obligation to investigate. Healthcare Improvement Scotland holds a statutory duty under the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 to further improve healthcare. If they identify imminent or significant risks to patient safety, they have formal mechanisms such as memoranda of understanding to report evident concerns to partners like the Health and Safety Executive, or to investigate and report under their Responding to Concerns framework.
So how many times have you reported breaches of ECHR legislation to statutory authority to investigate the epidemic of healthcare EUHR violations highlighted in PE1900. When will HIS revisit Elgin the epicentre of torture.
Article 14 (Prohibition of discrimination): No independent standing. Article 14 only applies in conjunction with other ECHR rights. Healthcare Improvement Scotland handles this via overarching public sector equality duties and their own Equality, Diversity and Human Rights commitments
Response
Healthcare Improvement Scotland is committed to conducting its statutory functions in a manner consistent with human rights principles and relevant legal obligations. HIS does not make legal determinations regarding whether a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) has occurred. Such determinations are generally matters for the courts and other competent authorities.
Healthcare Improvement Scotland assesses and reports on the quality and safety of healthcare services through its inspection, assurance, and improvement activities. Where concerns are identified, these are addressed through our established processes and, where appropriate, shared with relevant organisations in line with our statutory responsibilities.
Healthcare Improvement Scotland does not routinely categorise concerns identified through our work as breaches of ECHR legislation and therefore does not hold information in the form requested regarding the number of occasions on which ECHR breaches have been reported to a statutory authority.
Findings from our inspection and assurance activity are reported on His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland’s (HMICS) website as per our established publication processes. You can access the reports via the following link:
Inspections of healthcare in Scottish police custody centres – Healthcare Improvement Scotland
Due to the unannounced nature of this inspection programme, we are unable to confirm the dates of any planned inspection activity.
As part of our NHS Inspections programme, we are currently conducting inspections across a number of services within NHS Grampian. This includes maternity services at Aberdeen Maternity Hospital and Dr Grays Hospital. In addition, we are carrying out a broader inspection of hospital services across the Dr Grays Hospital, including the mental health inpatient ward.
Reviews and Appeals
For more information on our reviews and appeals, please visit: Freedom of information reviews and appeals – Healthcare Improvement Scotland