Meeting of the Parliament 03 March 2026 [Draft]
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 our A and E departments—I would be telling an untruth if I was to stand here and say that I did not know that. Like, I am sure, every other member in the chamber, I have a significant volume of queries from constituents who have had to experience long waits, often being left in corridors and so on. Everybody will be aware of those general queries that we get from constituents; most of my constituents use the A and E at Monklands hospital.
That is the starting point on which I agree with Jackie Baillie, and I think that we need to make changes in that area. I know that the cabinet secretary will refer to that situation in summing up, because he is obviously aware of it. However, that is probably where my agreement with Jackie Baillie on the issue ends, because I feel that the rest of her speech was about targeting the Government, as if the issue with A and E departments has simple solutions and is unique to Scotland. It is not unique to Scotland: we all watch the national news and see that, across the United Kingdom, there are issues with A and E just now. They were there before the Covid-19 pandemic—we all know that; let us face it—but they were exacerbated by Covid and they have not really recovered since.
We in this Parliament need to look at how we, as politicians, work together to try to alleviate some of the difficulties that A and E departments are facing.
I will highlight some of the stuff that the Scottish Government is doing. One of the big things just now, which I am sure that the cabinet secretary will touch on, and which he has spoken about over a number of weeks, is bringing down waiting list times. That is crucial, because the more people are being seen for the treatment that they need, the less likely they are to present at A and E, so that will have an impact.
In addition, the Government is investing in general practitioners—Jackie Baillie mentioned GPs—and in the new walk-in clinics, which I am really hopeful will have an impact with regard to who needs to present at accident and emergency departments. I hear regularly from constituents who are unable to access their GP and are then referred to A and E.