Better

Just because the National Health Service is fully devolved, which means the Scottish government gets to make day-to-day choices about how it is run, that doesn't mean it is protected from Westminster's economic austerity policy. Osborne has promised £25bn more cuts to public spending, and Scotland's share of that, £2.5bn, is headed our way after 2015. Whether we have a Tory government, or a coalition, or a Labour government, all three of the main parties have made the same commitment to austerity.

For the last four years, the Scottish Government has succeeded in keeping NHS funding going, despite cuts to the overall Scottish budget. But the Finance Secretary John Swinney is not going to be able to protect it in the future. He's made all the savings he can in education, housing, police, fire services and the rest. There is no flexibility left in the Scottish budget for other savings, so the NHS is sure to face severe spending cuts after 2015.

In addition to this, politicians across the political spectrum have suggested that the Barnett Formula, which the Treasury uses to calculate funding for Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, should be abolished, because they say it gives Scots about £1,200 per head more public spending than the UK average. The formula has worked pretty well for Scotland over the years, and has meant that spending rises in England have been matched north of the border. Without it, it's estimated that the Scottish NHS would face £4bn of cuts.

I can’t speak for England but I know in Scotland the NHS is regarded as a national treasure. It's an institution that has been enormously valuable to every living soul here. People are just starting to realise how much of a tragedy it would be if we lost it—it will be eroded still further if we don't take matters into our own hands.

Dr Willie Wilson, Campaigner for NHS for Yes

Worse

The NHS is already fully devolved to the Scottish Parliament, but there are three main reasons why the NHS is better off in the UK:

First, there is the future of Scotland’s medical and scientific research to consider. Funding for university research is distributed on a UK-wide basis, and in 2012-13 Scotland won 13 per cent of UK research council grants, earning £257m, despite Scotland having just 8.4 per cent of the UK’s population. Leaving the UK puts this research funding at risk.

Second, patients would have less choice of specialist care in an independent Scotland. NHS patients in Scotland can currently travel to the best places around the UK for specialist treatment, for example to the Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital in London. The SNP claim that this will continue as now if Scotland becomes an independent country, but although the NHS is devolved, it is still a service with no boundaries. An independent Scotland would need cross-border agreements such as those between EU states, which are not straightforward to arrange.

Third, the Scottish NHS will enjoy better workforce mobility as part of the UK. The NHS has the same structure in medical education, training, contracts and pay which enable staff to move easily and seamlessly throughout the UK. Leaving the UK would also put this at risk.

Jackson Carlaw, Health Spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives and MSP for West of Scotland