Meeting of the Parliament 19 February 2020
I thank the Labour Party for bringing these issues to the chamber. Given the challenges that our health service has been facing in the past few months, the debate is extremely timely. I also pay tribute to our incredible health service staff, who are working in increasingly tough conditions and are still managing to deliver excellent care. It is important to acknowledge that. Audit Scotland’s report on the NHS, published in October, revealed that, despite the existing pressures, patient safety and experiences of hospital care continue to improve. The NHS in Scotland has a committed workforce that continues to provide high-quality, safe care. I am extremely grateful for that. It is essential that we in Parliament take time to highlight the challenges that the NHS faces but we must also thank our dedicated healthcare staff and celebrate the work that they do.
I agree with the principles that are contained in the motion in Monica Lennon’s name. It is vital that we have transparency across our public services, not least in our health service, where lives are at stake. My amendment, which was not selected for debate, urged the Scottish Government not only to publicly report on the progress of the health and social care plan but to urgently develop a new health and social care strategy. The Scottish Government’s 2020 vision, which stated that, by 2020, everyone would be able
“to live longer, healthier lives at home, or in a homely setting”,
has obviously not been realised. The Scottish Government needs to outline the revised timescales for realising its ambition.
The motion also refers to the sustainability of the health service. The same Audit Scotland report on the NHS was clear that wide-scale reform is necessary to address the increasing pressures on the NHS and to reduce demand for acute services. That is not happening, however. Delayed discharge figures are consistently poor and, between 2017-18 and 2018-19, the NHS saw an increase of 2.8 per cent in A and E attendances. Acute services are struggling at both ends of the pipeline, and patients are suffering as a result.