Nicola Sturgeon criticised by Jardine over Scottish NHS
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Following reports NHS Scotland leaders are discussing the potential creation of a “two-tier” system that would charge the wealthy, Liberal Democrat MP Christine Jardine has said the problem with “entirely” with the Scottish Government. Speaking to GB News, Ms Jardine said: “I’ve got a problem with the Scottish Government saying what a rosy picture they have created in Scotland and their MPs down here giving everyone this false picture of what is happening in Scotland.
“So often they have promised they are spending more on the NHS but also they have long waiting times, ambulances which don’t turn up for 20 hours.
“The problem is entirely with the Scottish Government.
“It’s not to do with the Barnett formula itself, it’s to do with how they are spending the money in Scotland.
“The fact that they’re willing to put £21million into an independence referendum that a majority of people don’t want rather than make sure that the NHS in Scotland has the money to work effectively and that the staff have the support that they need.
“They are going to have to recognise that people are worried about this and do something.”
“So often they have promised they are spending more on the NHS but also they have long waiting times, ambulances which don’t turn up for 20 hours.
“The problem is entirely with the Scottish Government.
“It’s not to do with the Barnett formula itself, it’s to do with how they are spending the money in Scotland.
“The fact that they’re willing to put £21million into an independence referendum that a majority of people don’t want rather than make sure that the NHS in Scotland has the money to work effectively and that the staff have the support that they need.
“They are going to have to recognise that people are worried about this and do something.”
The First Minister was forced to say the principle of the NHS being free for all is “not up for discussion” after the leaked reports.
Leaked minutes of a September meeting with high-ranking health officials, seen by BBC Scotland, say they were given the “green light” by NHS Scotland chief executive Caroline Lamb to discuss reform of a service which finds itself in crisis.
The Scottish Government said the meeting was between a small number of NHS directors.
One suggestion in the minutes is to “design in a two-tier system where the people who can afford to, go private”, the BBC reports.
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The Scottish Government immediately sought to quash the discussion, with Nicola Sturgeon telling the PA news agency on Monday she was “emphatically” against the idea of making the wealthy pay for their care on the NHS.
“The founding principles of the National Health Service are not up for discussion,” the First Minister said.
“It’s democratically elected governments who decide the policy basis of the National Health Service.”
When asked if she or her ministers knew NHS leaders were taking part in these discussions, the First Minister said: “I don’t dictate to NHS chief executives what they can and can’t discuss – we live in a democracy.”
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Other suggestions included changing the “risk appetite from what we see in hospitals” by setting a target of discharging patients to their home for treatment within 23 hours.
But the minutes of the meeting accept that “it is not gold standard but what other countries can do without an NHS”.
Leaders also considered a review of the cost of long-term prescribing of drugs, pausing the funding of new drugs, applying a charge for freedom of information requests and sending patients home for care, according to the document, while saying there was a £1 billion hole in the service’s finances.
The First Minister said the NHS in Scotland was outperforming those elsewhere in the UK and pledged the support of her Government for the service.
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