NHS Highland provides healthcare for a population of approximately 300,000 people scattered over an area the size of Wales. As a result of the dispersed distribution of the population, staff from NHS Highland have developed a great deal of expertise in managing rural health issues. When the concept of the Centre for Health Science was initially suggested, NHS Highland became one of the early negotiating partners for building the Centre.

NHS Highland lead the development of the Clinical Skills Centre and Access Dental and are responsible for setting up the NHS Diabetes Centre within the Highland Diabetes Institute. In addition, staff employed by NHS Highland will benefit a great deal from the state of the art teaching and training facilities at The Centre for Health Science with consequent improvements in patient care.