Putting quality first to deliver better health, better care and better value - The Highland Quality Approach The population of NHS Highland is 320,000 people and is spread over 32,500 square kilometres, making it one of the largest and most sparsely populated Health Boards in the UK. NHS Highland is the biggest employer in the region so our staff are also important members of our communities. As an organisation, we make a very significant contribution to the local economy. The Scottish Highlands are known world wide as containing some of the nation’s most outstanding natural environment. This also presents some challenges in delivering services. For instance a difficult terrain, rugged coastlines, many remote and rural area, inhabited islands, limited transport and communications infrastructure.