Agenda: Health Secretary Shona Robison writes for The Herald

Our caring services must be designed around people and patients, not the buildings they're treated in. Prevention must also be a vital part of the debate on the future.

Signalling our intent to have that debate reflects how the Scottish Government wants to do business.

My belief is the consensus must be built on the agreement we already have in Scotland that the NHS should remain publicly-owned, publicly-run, and free at the point of need.

On that basis, positive ideas will be welcome, no matter where they come from.

That is why I was encouraged by the recent statement from professionals in our health service at the RCN and Royal Colleges, calling for a public conversation on the long term future of our NHS.

It was a considered contribution and this government will listen closely to these key professional bodies - as should all politicians.

One of the main calls from the professional bodies was to rethink targets. We're listening to these calls, and share the same view that we must have the right targets.

The number of targets has reduced dramatically over the last decade - from 200 in 2005 to 20 in 2015.

And targets are important in driving improvements in the NHS, such as ensuring people have consistently quick access to cancer treatment.

That is why this cannot just be a discussion between clinicians and politicians. We must also listen to members of the public.

We'll do that throughout the summer and beyond. I hope we can reach a broad consensus on principles and future direction of travel by the autumn.

This isn't an easy, or a quick piece of work. It deserves time and serious debate.

However, while we must consider the future of our health service, we should not lose sight of how far we've come.

Substantial improvements under this government have led to historically low waiting times, large reductions in infection rates in our hospitals, and delivery of some of the most high quality and safe healthcare anywhere in the world.

Our NHS now has record staffing and record funding. We're bringing health and social care together to work closer with each other than ever before. And we have a clear focus on our 2020 vision for the NHS - which is starting a fundamental shift to more preventative healthcare and care into the community.

All that has been achieved while our budget has been consistently been cut by the UK Government - with fresh cuts to our overall spending already confirmed for this year which could total upwards of £170 million at the hands of the Chancellor.

In these circumstances there is no doubt that just like across most of the western world, there are pressures on our system.

It should be acknowledged The Herald has been a strong advocate of this need for discussion and positive change.

We want to see fresh emphasis on care delivered in the community, by multi-professional teams, which best meets patient needs. The solution needs to involve all professions and everywhere we deliver care, from care in your home, through primary care and GPs and right up to the acute care delivered in major hospitals.

We have already begun work to renew our focus on primary care - both in and out of hours - and we want to engage the public in developing a new model of primary care which provides better access for patients, and can address the recruitment and retention problems GPs face.

To make these ideas reality, we will need agreement and support across professions and the public.

While we may not agree on every point across the political spectrum on all of these issues, I am confident, that with shared positive intentions, we can build consensus. I hope to work with the Health Committee at the Parliament to make that happen.

Our NHS is something I know we all treasure. We all have a stake in it and we all deserve our say on its future. I look forward to engaging in and leading the conversation, so we can protect our NHS for generations to come.

Shona Robison is Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Sport.