Meeting of the Parliament 19 February 2020
No—I have a lot to get through.
A 95 per cent performance rate for the 31-day cancer target has been met and improvements are coming through on the 62-day target. There is more to do—absolutely—but those improvements should be neither ignored nor dismissed.
There is innovation across our NHS every day: in home-based hypertension testing that is linked to social prescribing; in the growing number of patients that use the attend anywhere platform, or NHS near me; and in developments in optometry, community pharmacy, robotic surgery and orthopaedic in-patient stays and much more. Our job is to harness such innovation, gather the evidence of what works and enable it to be spread, as we did only yesterday with the NHS Lanarkshire hospital-at-home model.
I do not deny that there are challenges or problems. I am clear that the whole-system approach that we are taking and the whole-system engagement that we are nurturing—from our work with local authorities to our engagement with royal colleges, regulatory bodies and third sector organisations—are the right things to do.
I ask Opposition colleagues for recognition of the progress that our NHS staff are delivering, and I note that criticism and challenge should come along with constructive engagement, ideas and mature discussion. Our NHS, the staff who dedicate their lives to it and the patients who need it deserve nothing less from any one of us.
I move amendment S5M-20882.3, to leave out from “has serious concerns” to end and insert:
“pays tribute to NHS staff for their dedication to patient care and safety, commending them for the work they are doing in implementing plans for workforce development, waiting times improvements and enhancing mental health services; welcomes that the draft budget for 2020-21 would ensure that health funding will be £1.4 billion higher than had there been only real terms funding increases since 2016; notes that Lord Brodie will chair the public inquiry into the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh and the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and that the terms of reference for this inquiry are currently under development; welcomes that the Scottish Government ensures that ministers are accountable to the public and staff through the chairing of annual health board meetings, and notes that, should they choose to do so, the Parliament’s committees already have the power to take evidence from all departing health board chief executives and chairpersons.”
15:01Motions, questions or amendments mentioned by their reference code.