A further £200million is to be allocated over the next two years to support the integration of health and social care in Scotland.
The investment comes on top of the £100million already allocated for the next financial year and will extend the Integrated Care Fund into 2016-17 and 2017-18.
The money will be distributed among the 32 local NHS and social care partnerships that have been set up as part of the move towards integrated services.
The Integrated Care Fund forms part of more than £500million of government investment over the next three years that will be used to support integration, including £100million over three years for delayed discharge, and £30million over three years for telehealth.
From the beginning next month all partnerships across the country are required by plans in place detailing how they will bring together health and local authority care services, to be fully implemented by April 1, 2016.
Announcing the funding Health Secretary Shona Robison said: “The integration of health and social care services is one of the most ambitious programmes of work this government has undertaken, and one which we believe will deliver sustainable health and social care services for the future that are centred around the needs of patients.
“Only now are other parts of the UK waking up to the need for change, and the need for integrated services, which in Scotland we have been working towards for the last few years. We are now only weeks away from every part of the country having their integrated plans in place – setting out how NHS boards and local authorities are going to work together to provide care for people in their area.
“Such a substantial change to the way our health service is run needs substantial investment to make it a success, and I’m pleased to be able to announce today an additional £200million over two years to help partnerships achieve their ambitions.”