Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 03 December 2014
03 Dec 2014 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
National Health Service
No, thank you.
The Government is failing not only to meet its initial targets but to meet the lower targets that it then set.
Audit Scotland also said:
“There are signs that NHS boards are facing increasing difficulty meeting their financial targets, and some are doing this in unsustainable ways. Four boards required additional funding from the Scottish Government to break even, and five continue to rely on high levels of non-recurring savings.”
Those financial constraints are undoubtedly related to the real-terms reduction in the funds allocated to the NHS. As was recently reported by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the Scottish Government budget for the NHS in Scotland has fallen by more than the NHS budget in England. So much for the progressive credentials of this Scottish National Party Government and its promise to protect the NHS.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (John Scott)
Con
The next item of business is a debate on motion S4M-11766, in the name of Neil Findlay, on the state of the national health service. 16:22
Neil Findlay (Lothian) (Lab)
Lab
The national health service is without doubt the greatest social policy of any Government. The collective pooling of our taxes to provide healthcare for all,...
The Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Sport (Shona Robison)
SNP
Will Neil Findlay recognise the £40 million that was announced by Alex Neil for investment in GP surgeries, particularly in more deprived communities and rur...
Neil Findlay
Lab
Of course we always welcome more money, but the issue applies across the board and over a long period, when the budget has been declining. Waiting times for...
Bob Doris (Glasgow) (SNP)
SNP
Will the member give way?
Neil Findlay
Lab
No thanks. Let us look at what Audit Scotland, whose report should have been a wake-up call to the Government, says about the NHS: “The current level of fo...
Bob Doris
SNP
Will the member give way?
Neil Findlay
Lab
No, thank you. The Government is failing not only to meet its initial targets but to meet the lower targets that it then set. Audit Scotland also said: “T...
Shona Robison
SNP
We have said very clearly that we are committed to a real-terms increase not just in this parliamentary session but in the next one. In the Labour leadership...
Neil Findlay
Lab
I will deal with the leadership election outwith the chamber; that is a different matter. Let us deal with what we are dealing with in here. The consequence...
The Minister for Public Health (Maureen Watt)
SNP
Will the member give way?
Neil Findlay
Lab
No, thank you. Directly linked to the issue is social care, which is one of the greatest scandals of our times. Our elderly and vulnerable friends and relat...
Shona Robison
SNP
Unlike the member, local government has been very constructive in responding to the challenges. We should remember that it is a tripartite funding agreement ...
Neil Findlay
Lab
We do not know where the money will come from, but local government has to find it—that is how the Scottish Government treats local government. We have simi...
The Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Sport (Shona Robison)
SNP
The NHS is a fantastic institution. As the new Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Sport, I am grateful for the opportunity to put on record my appre...
Neil Findlay
Lab
Will the cabinet secretary reflect on the social care resource that is available?
Shona Robison
SNP
Of course, that is why we have moved to the integration of health and social care. In his speech, Neil Findlay called for more money for health and more mone...
John Pentland (Motherwell and Wishaw) (Lab)
Lab
If the cabinet secretary believes that we are making progress, does she share my concern about the current plans to close accident and emergency departments ...
Shona Robison
SNP
The member could do with a dose of self-awareness, given where we have been with the A and E departments in Lanarkshire. It was this Government that saved th...
Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab)
Lab
In 2008, the cabinet secretary said that the Government had reached Labour’s target of zero for delayed discharges. In the 24 quarters since then, the target...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Elaine Smith)
Lab
Cabinet secretary, you are in your last minute.
Shona Robison
SNP
My saying that delayed discharge is my top priority gives Dr Simpson a sense of realism. Of course, when I dealt with delayed discharge, it was an inherited ...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Lab
Order, please. Interruption. Order, please. The cabinet secretary is concluding.
Shona Robison
SNP
We dealt with delayed discharge, and I will deal with it again. I did not want to leave Dr Simpson under any illusion. In the absence of any other policies,...
Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con)
Con
I will begin, in the short time that is allotted to me, by endorsing the opening statement of Labour’s motion and by paying tribute to the staff of NHS Scotl...
Shona Robison
SNP
I am certainly very willing to offer Opposition members a briefing on our plans and on the progress that is being made on the integration of health and socia...
Nanette Milne
Con
The cabinet secretary has just stolen a bit of my speech. It is vital that integration move forward, in relation to not just doctors but to AHPs and nurses ...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Lab
We come to the open debate. We are very short of time, so speeches should be up to four minutes, although I am afraid that our last two speakers may not get ...
Bob Doris (Glasgow) (SNP)
SNP
The Labour motion identifies a number of pressures on Scotland’s NHS. However, the motion is one-sided and partial, and it gives an incomplete picture and im...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Lab
Order.