Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 03 March 2026 [Draft]
03 Mar 2026 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Accident and Emergency Services (Pressures)
I thank Jackie Baillie for bringing this incredibly important debate to the chamber. For the benefit of the cabinet secretary, I say from the outset that the staff in A and E are exceptional. We are not talking them down—we are talking about this issue because they have asked us to do so. It was the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, at an event that Jackie Baillie and I attended, that asked for the issue to be raised in Parliament.
According to the RCEM,
“Compared to 2021 … six times more patients now wait over 12 hours to be either admitted, transferred or discharged from hospital. In 2024 alone, we estimate 818 excess deaths in Scotland were due to delays to admission of over 12 hours.”
The RCEM has also stated:
“It is important to note that whilst”
there has been
“a stark rise”
in 12-hour waits from 2020,
“waits were already starting to increase before the pandemic”
and
“Covid-19 cannot be solely blamed for increases.”
The A and E department is the canary in the mine, because it is an indication of a system that is creaking and failing.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Annabelle Ewing)
SNP
The final item of business today is a members’ business debate on motion S6M-20795, in the name of Jackie Baillie, on recognising the pressures facing accide...
Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab)
Lab
There was a time when hearing the sirens of an ambulance meant two things: first, that somebody was in trouble and needed help; and, secondly, that they woul...
The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care (Neil Gray)
SNP
Will the member give way?
Jackie Baillie
Lab
No—I am about to tell the cabinet secretary a story.On a Sunday morning in December last year, Jean, an 85-year-old great-great-grandmother who has dementia,...
Neil Gray
SNP
I am grateful that Jackie Baillie referenced the staff, because they are not apparent in her motion.I wish to pick up on a point that Ms Baillie raised at th...
Jackie Baillie
Lab
It was staff in the Royal College of Emergency Medicine who asked me to bring the motion to the Parliament. It is patients who tell stories about delays in a...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Annabelle Ewing)
SNP
The member is concluding.
Jackie Baillie
Lab
Most of us live our lives trying to avoid A and E as much as we can, but we all want to know that if we call for an ambulance, it will come, and that we will...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Annabelle Ewing)
SNP
We move to the open debate.17:19
Fulton MacGregor (Coatbridge and Chryston) (SNP)
SNP
I thank Jackie Baillie for bringing the debate to the chamber. I will start on a point on which I can agree with her: there are, of course, huge pressures in...
Stephen Kerr (Central Scotland) (Con)
Con
Will the member give way?
Fulton MacGregor
SNP
I have quite a lot to get through. It depends on how strict the Deputy Presiding Officer is going to be with time.
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Annabelle Ewing)
SNP
A lot of members want to speak, and I am keen that they all get a chance to have their four minutes.
Fulton MacGregor
SNP
I will continue on just now, then—sorry, Mr Kerr.We also need to be more innovative with new solutions that are out there to enable people to look after thei...
Sharon Dowey (South Scotland) (Con)
Con
I thank Jackie Baillie for bringing the debate to the Holyrood chamber this evening.It is a busy period, and Parliament is debating a number of new subjects,...
Davy Russell (Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse) (Lab)
Lab
My thanks go to Jackie Baillie for bringing this incredibly important debate to the chamber, and for recounting the experience of one of my constituents, Jea...
Tim Eagle (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Con
I declare an interest, in that my wife is a practising GP with the national health service.I thank Jackie Baillie for bringing this important debate to the c...
Carol Mochan (South Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
I thank my colleague Jackie Baillie for bringing this important debate to the chamber.In 2007, the Scottish Government set a target that 95 per cent of patie...
Paul Sweeney (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
A similar situation prevailed at the Glasgow royal infirmary. Does the member agree that the main issue has been the collapse of social care beds in Scotland...
Carol Mochan
Lab
I absolutely agree. Members across the chamber can see the situation that we are describing, but what we do not see is action happening to change that.Consti...
Brian Whittle (South Scotland) (Con)
Con
I thank Jackie Baillie for bringing this incredibly important debate to the chamber. For the benefit of the cabinet secretary, I say from the outset that the...
Neil Gray
SNP
I appreciate the point that Brian Whittle is making, and I thank him for giving way. The pandemic undoubtedly exacerbated the issues—not just in Scotland but...
Brian Whittle
Con
I say to the cabinet secretary that this is 2026: where is the Covid recovery plan that we were promised way back by the health secretary, two predecessors a...
Stephen Kerr (Central Scotland) (Con)
Con
I say well done to Jackie Baillie for bringing the debate to the chamber, but I am incredibly disappointed with the cabinet secretary. I like Neil Gray—I hop...
Neil Gray
SNP
Will the member take an intervention?
Stephen Kerr
Con
I will, but the cabinet secretary does not need to be so defensive about the issue. Part of the way to deal with it is to be completely open about what is ha...
Neil Gray
SNP
I accept Stephen Kerr’s point, as I do Jackie Baillie’s point: that there are too many people waiting for too long in accident and emergency departments. I m...
Stephen Kerr
Con
I dispute the suggestion that we are scaremongering. We are bringing the voices of our constituents to the chamber, and that is exactly what they expect of u...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Annabelle Ewing)
SNP
Cabinet secretary, please let Mr Kerr continue.
Stephen Kerr
Con
That is what our constituents expect of us, and I hope that the cabinet secretary accepts that we are expressing a genuine level of concern on our constituen...