Cole-Hamilton challenges First Minister on failure to recruit mental health workers

Speaking in the Scottish Parliament this afternoon during First Minister’s Questions, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

“It’s harder than ever to see your GP. People are phoning hundreds of times when the lines open, only to be given an appointment weeks later. 

“Local surgeries are on their knees and a lot of the demand they face is linked to the crisis in mental health.

“They need dedicated mental health workers alongside them. And in 2021, Nicola Sturgeon agreed with that. 

“She announced that the SNP Government would hire 1,000 new staff to lessen the load. Every surgery would benefit by 2026. Well, it's not long to go.

“There’s just one catch.

“We’ve uncovered that, three years later, not a single one of these workers has been recruited. Not one.

“Liberal Democrats are dedicated to getting you fast access to your GP, we’re dedicated to world-class mental health support.

“But the SNP have cut mental health budgets time and again, and again, and again.

“So can I ask the First Minister, isn’t this more evidence that the SNP have been in power too long and are letting people down?”