Cole-Hamilton marks 75th anniversary of the NHS with plan of action

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has today marked the 75th Anniversary of the National Health Service and set out plans to revive the service in the face of SNP apathy.

Mr Cole-Hamilton’s key priorities for reviving the NHS are to:

• Bring down waits backed by a new plan to retain NHS staff and tackle burnout

• Save NHS dentistry and enable everyone to be seen by cutting funding red tape

• Train more mental health professionals for key settings including A&Es and GP surgeries for fast access help

• Scrap the SNP’s billion-pound social care bureaucracy and spend it on frontline services and staff instead

• New specialist clinics and in-home support for long Covid sufferers

• Back local health services so people can get the care they need closer to home

Mr Cole-Hamilton said:

“The NHS embodies an ideal: healthcare for everyone, no matter their background or circumstances.

“This 75-year anniversary is a milestone but it is also a personal opportunity for I and many others to thank staff for the incredible work they do right across our NHS.  

“NHS workers know better than anyone that it is facing a raft of pressures which require more than just warm words and rounds of applause.    

“While this SNP-Green Government fritter away time on all the wrong things, waiting lists spiral, the number of people stuck in hospital soars and staff are left to carry the ever-growing burden.  

“Scottish Liberal Democrats have a proud record of standing up for our national health, from securing £120m more for mental health to the introduction of free personal care, eye checks, dental checks and the smoking ban.

“Now on this anniversary, the Scottish Liberal Democrats want Humza Yousaf to take a number of steps to get our NHS back on track.  

“Our plans will create safe staffing levels, boost retention and recruitment and invest in more training places.    

“We will invest in social care, long Covid and mental health and ensure that high quality healthcare is available for everyone, regardless of their background or circumstances.”