Meeting of the Parliament 26 October 2022
I will not; I am sure that the member will have his moment.
I have no doubt that the NHS had challenges pre-pandemic, but for Labour not to recognise that Covid has been the biggest shock that the NHS has faced is frankly burying its head in the sand.
Let us remember: as we speak, more than 800 people in our hospitals are suffering from the effects of the virus. People are still dying and families are grieving due to loss caused by Covid. Any realistic and pragmatic discussion of the NHS in Scotland cannot simply cast aside the impact of the pandemic, because it is central to the challenges that we face. That is why a successful Covid and flu vaccination programme is central to our recovery, and I thank our staff who are in involved in that.
The NHS will not recover in weeks—as Jackie Baillie demanded that it should—or even months; it will take years.? That is why our £1 billion recovery plan is predicated on five years of substantial investment and dedicated reform. I am committed to that recovery, and taking care of our workforce is central to it.
As Jackie Baillie referred to, during the past week, we offered our NHS staff a record pay rise of £2,205 this year—which is an average uplift of 7 per cent—to help tackle the cost of living crisis and retain staff during the tough winter months.?The offer means that the lowest paid would see a rise of more than 11 per cent and qualified nursing staff would receive up to 8.45 per cent. If agreed, the pay uplift will amount to almost half a billion pounds, which is the largest single-year pay offer ever given to agenda for change staff, and if it is accepted, it will mean that NHS staff in Scotland will be better paid than those in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Once again, I give my thanks to those staff.