Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 03 March 2026 [Draft]
03 Mar 2026 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Accident and Emergency Services (Pressures)
Most of us live our lives trying to avoid A and E as much as we can, but we all want to know that if we call for an ambulance, it will come, and that we will be seen as fast as possible and treated with dignity.
I call on the Scottish Government to adopt the Royal College of Emergency Medicine’s metric of acute hospital bed occupancy, but collecting the data is not enough. The Government must also act on the data. It must invest in social care to create more care packages and reduce delayed discharge. It must show leadership and take accountability for the whole system—for what happens not just in emergency departments but in the rest of the hospital, and outside hospital, too. It must invest in primary care so that more patients are seen early and do not need to go to A and E in the first place. It must create a proper workforce plan so that emergency departments can recruit and retain staff.
When the paramedics turned up 17 hours late to collect Jean, they apologised, but it was not their fault. The accountability lies with the Scottish Government. It is time that ministers took responsibility, and took action to get A and E waiting times down.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Annabelle Ewing)
SNP
The final item of business today is a members’ business debate on motion S6M-20795, in the name of Jackie Baillie, on recognising the pressures facing accide...
Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab)
Lab
There was a time when hearing the sirens of an ambulance meant two things: first, that somebody was in trouble and needed help; and, secondly, that they woul...
The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care (Neil Gray)
SNP
Will the member give way?
Jackie Baillie
Lab
No—I am about to tell the cabinet secretary a story.On a Sunday morning in December last year, Jean, an 85-year-old great-great-grandmother who has dementia,...
Neil Gray
SNP
I am grateful that Jackie Baillie referenced the staff, because they are not apparent in her motion.I wish to pick up on a point that Ms Baillie raised at th...
Jackie Baillie
Lab
It was staff in the Royal College of Emergency Medicine who asked me to bring the motion to the Parliament. It is patients who tell stories about delays in a...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Annabelle Ewing)
SNP
The member is concluding.
Jackie Baillie
Lab
Most of us live our lives trying to avoid A and E as much as we can, but we all want to know that if we call for an ambulance, it will come, and that we will...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Annabelle Ewing)
SNP
We move to the open debate.17:19
Fulton MacGregor (Coatbridge and Chryston) (SNP)
SNP
I thank Jackie Baillie for bringing the debate to the chamber. I will start on a point on which I can agree with her: there are, of course, huge pressures in...
Stephen Kerr (Central Scotland) (Con)
Con
Will the member give way?
Fulton MacGregor
SNP
I have quite a lot to get through. It depends on how strict the Deputy Presiding Officer is going to be with time.
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Annabelle Ewing)
SNP
A lot of members want to speak, and I am keen that they all get a chance to have their four minutes.
Fulton MacGregor
SNP
I will continue on just now, then—sorry, Mr Kerr.We also need to be more innovative with new solutions that are out there to enable people to look after thei...
Sharon Dowey (South Scotland) (Con)
Con
I thank Jackie Baillie for bringing the debate to the Holyrood chamber this evening.It is a busy period, and Parliament is debating a number of new subjects,...
Davy Russell (Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse) (Lab)
Lab
My thanks go to Jackie Baillie for bringing this incredibly important debate to the chamber, and for recounting the experience of one of my constituents, Jea...
Tim Eagle (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Con
I declare an interest, in that my wife is a practising GP with the national health service.I thank Jackie Baillie for bringing this important debate to the c...
Carol Mochan (South Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
I thank my colleague Jackie Baillie for bringing this important debate to the chamber.In 2007, the Scottish Government set a target that 95 per cent of patie...
Paul Sweeney (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
A similar situation prevailed at the Glasgow royal infirmary. Does the member agree that the main issue has been the collapse of social care beds in Scotland...
Carol Mochan
Lab
I absolutely agree. Members across the chamber can see the situation that we are describing, but what we do not see is action happening to change that.Consti...
Brian Whittle (South Scotland) (Con)
Con
I thank Jackie Baillie for bringing this incredibly important debate to the chamber. For the benefit of the cabinet secretary, I say from the outset that the...
Neil Gray
SNP
I appreciate the point that Brian Whittle is making, and I thank him for giving way. The pandemic undoubtedly exacerbated the issues—not just in Scotland but...
Brian Whittle
Con
I say to the cabinet secretary that this is 2026: where is the Covid recovery plan that we were promised way back by the health secretary, two predecessors a...
Stephen Kerr (Central Scotland) (Con)
Con
I say well done to Jackie Baillie for bringing the debate to the chamber, but I am incredibly disappointed with the cabinet secretary. I like Neil Gray—I hop...
Neil Gray
SNP
Will the member take an intervention?
Stephen Kerr
Con
I will, but the cabinet secretary does not need to be so defensive about the issue. Part of the way to deal with it is to be completely open about what is ha...
Neil Gray
SNP
I accept Stephen Kerr’s point, as I do Jackie Baillie’s point: that there are too many people waiting for too long in accident and emergency departments. I m...
Stephen Kerr
Con
I dispute the suggestion that we are scaremongering. We are bringing the voices of our constituents to the chamber, and that is exactly what they expect of u...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Annabelle Ewing)
SNP
Cabinet secretary, please let Mr Kerr continue.
Stephen Kerr
Con
That is what our constituents expect of us, and I hope that the cabinet secretary accepts that we are expressing a genuine level of concern on our constituen...