Meeting of the Parliament 17 January 2024
With regard to this afternoon’s debate on the NHS in Scotland, it is worth observing that the substantive motion before us from the Labour Party offers not a single new idea or initiative on what Labour in Scotland would do differently to improve Scotland’s NHS, nor does it identify a single additional penny for Scotland’s NHS.
I acknowledge the Scottish Government’s amendment’s recognition of the fact that health services across the UK are dealing with the long-term impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on waiting times, and its recognition of the fact that too many people are waiting too long for treatment. Of course—despite some improvements—that includes people right here in Scotland. I readily acknowledge that we all wish to see those improvements gather pace.
The Labour motion refers to long-term waits in the NHS. In 2023, Stephanie Howarth, the chief statistician to the Welsh Government, sought to analyse long-term waits across all UK nations. Ms Howarth indicated that, in March 2023, the number of people in Wales waiting for more than one year for treatment pathways was 133,000. The figure in Scotland was 74,000. The number of people in Wales waiting two years was 28,000. In Scotland, it was 8,000. I acknowledge that Ms Howarth says:
“Although we know these figures aren’t entirely equivalent to each other and should not be directly compared”—
that is not what I am doing—
“the methodological differences cannot account for the scale of some of the differences in the numbers waiting longer than one and two years.”
On this occasion, that suggests more impactful progress in Scotland than has been made elsewhere. That will not always be the case, so I ask the Scottish Government how we share such best practice across the UK and how we receive it from elsewhere.
I commend health and social care workers not only in Scotland but across the UK. We need to set the challenges that are faced by Scotland in a pan-UK context, even where that is uncomfortable for Labour, as it includes NHS performance in Wales. Given that the UK Government’s spending plans—which the UK Labour Party has not said that it would deviate from—would see only an additional £10 million increase to Scotland’s budget, thank heavens that our Scottish Government will increase the spend on our NHS by more than £0.5 billion.
I acknowledge that vacancy levels and recruitment remain significant challenges. Again, such challenges are faced right across the UK, which is understandable, given that the impact of Brexit has undermined workforce planning right across the UK. Indeed, Nuffield Trust research indicated that there are 4,000 fewer European doctors working in the NHS because of Brexit. The Nursing and Midwifery Council estimated that, in 2022, there were up to 58,000 fewer European nurses working across the UK compared with pre-Brexit trends.
That is a reality, but the Labour motion, which mentions recruitment challenges, makes no reference to Brexit. It does not have credibility. Of course it makes no reference to Brexit, because that does not suit its agenda. After all, Labour is a pro-Brexit party, which is something that Labour does not like to draw attention to here in Scotland.
I suspect that what will help Scotland’s NHS with its recruitment challenges is the fact that NHS workers in Scotland are the best paid and best supported in the UK. I am aware of the various recruitment initiatives that the Scottish Government is taking to tackle staff vacancies—there are very real challenges. However, I ask whether that includes attracting—unfortunately within the confines of Brexit Britain—many of those EU healthcare professionals who have chosen not to work in Britain as a direct consequence of Brexit.
I absolutely acknowledge the significant and enduring challenges that are faced by Scotland’s NHS—indeed, by healthcare systems right across the UK. Unfortunately, Labour set the terms of reference of today’s debate, and it has pursued cynical political opportunism rather than constructive dialogue. I look forward to the next debate, and I hope that the Labour Party will do much better in that.