As England improves its NHS, Scotland's health service slides backwards |
Surgery is a forensic business and it would help if the same principle was applied to the politics of health. Instead of sweeping claims and endless announcements, the true yardstick of success or failure lies in what people actually experience.
Let’s not forget that this debate really is one of life or death. “Scotland has the lowest life expectancy – not only in the UK but also in Western Europe”, says Mike McKirdy’s report on the future of the NHS in Scotland. If that grim status is not a clarion call for dynamic political action, then what possibly could be?
Yet we remain stuck in the same mire of under-achievement. The heroic efforts of those who work in the service remained unmatched by the rhetoric of politicians more interested in protecting their own reputations than in driving through the changes which are required.
Ever since 1948, there has been an exceptionally strong Scottish commitment to the NHS and its underpinning values. Yet according to the latest Scottish Social Attitudes survey, just 22 per cent are satisfied with our NHS, the lowest figure since records began.
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At the same time, admissions to private health services in Scotland has increased by 55 per cent since 2019 – not just by those who can afford them but by many who really can’t but feel they somehow must, because the alternative waiting times are so dire.
Anyone who seeks to dismiss McKirdy’s report because it was commissioned by the Scottish Labour Party is either a knave or a fool. Maybe they should try reading it because every line carries the ring of truth, which will have to........