Meeting of the Parliament 01 March 2023 [Draft]
The national care service would be a great place to start. One of the SNP’s leadership candidates is making promises about money that he is going to find from I do not know where.
At least now, the SNP looks set to bin its widely criticised national care service plan, as we have just heard, and the associated £1.7 billion spend. Despite rigorous defences of the SNP’s flagship policy from members around the chamber and members on the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, the SNP leadership candidates are retreating from that position and leaving other SNP members exposed and fleeing for cover. Humza Yousaf says that he will overhaul the plan, despite defending the policy many months ago. Kate Forbes says that Scotland may not need the flagship policy at all, and she is the finance secretary. Ash Regan would immediately pause the plan if she leads SNP members and becomes our First Minister.
Perhaps Bob Doris should think about that and reflect on it in his speech. It seems that the ministers in the chamber today are the only ones who are staking their political reputations on the policy—or have they U-turned, too?
This year, more than 6,000 Scots will die with dementia, and, in under 20 years, the number of deaths will rise to more than 19,000. We need to do better to support people now and act to ensure that Scotland can support many more people with dementia tomorrow. We look forward to taking that forward with whoever has the job come the end of the month.
I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests. I am a practising national health service doctor.
I move amendment S6M-08053.1, to insert at end:
“; recognises that improvements in social care, primary care and delayed discharge would make a huge improvement to the quality of life of people with dementia, and calls on the Scottish Government to make these improvements at pace.”
16:21Motions, questions or amendments mentioned by their reference code.