Meeting of the Parliament 13 March 2025
In my opinion, we need to be collaborating with the rest of the UK. Why on earth would we not do that, taking the best that it has and using it ourselves? We could even look to adapt it a little bit. However, this SNP Government is absolutely hellbent on doing things differently, as we have found time and time again to the NHS’s cost.
E-prescribing could transform how patients access medication, and fully integrated digital records could save lives. Just yesterday, I was at a pharmacy conference at which the Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health, Jenni Minto, told delegates that that was a top priority. However, she failed to mention that it should have been delivered decades ago and failed to give a delivery timetable. Under the SNP, those innovations remain far out of reach. Why? Because the SNP does not have the competence, the leadership or the vision to deliver them. While it wastes time and money on failed projects, the real cost is felt by patients.
A £1.5 billion black hole in the Scottish budget has led to delays of up to two years in crucial new facilities such as the eye hospital in Edinburgh and replacement hospitals for Fort William and Airdrie. The reality of administration under the SNP is cutbacks, delays and broken promises. The SNP loves to talk about innovation, but its legacy is a health service that is struggling under budget cuts, digital failures and a Government that is incapable of delivering the changes that it promises.
In his speech, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care forgot that this SNP Government has not created some basic IT platforms such as a platform that would allow hospitals, GPs and pharmacies to see the notes that we create. I welcome every piece of innovation that the cabinet secretary spoke of, but, in NHS Scotland, we too often hear companies telling us that, despite being approved by one health board, they have to go through the whole process again with every other board.