POLITICS MATTERS: 'Time to make sure NHS is fit for the modern world'
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Let me take you back – 75 years ago the National Health Service was created, writes David Stewart. Then, it was world leading, world beating and world changing, the jewel in the crown of the Welfare State and the crowning glory of the post-war Labour government and a personal triumph for Nye Bevan, Secretary of State for Health.
A National Health Service – where they checked your pulse, not your purse – free at the point of use; a godsend for the poor, the disadvantaged and the old.
The early optimism and expectation expressed at its inception may seem somewhat misplaced today. Local medic Dr Iain Kennedy, who chairs the doctors’ BMA Union in Scotland, said this week that the NHS cannot continue to “struggle to survive from crisis to crisis” and that its staff are “on their knees.”
A poll published in The Times on Monday asked how well the SNP government was performing on health. Over 60 per cent said “not well”. There is no doubt that our hardworking and dedicated NHS staff are facing extraordinary pressures, with rising levels of winter flu, Covid and Strep A, but are we missing the bigger picture? Is it not time for a fundamental review and assessment of the purpose and place of our health service in a changing and complex world?
Related: Politics Matters: Tests will be energy costs, inflation and industrial disputes
I suspect that no politician, irrespective of the colour of their rosette, will have all the answers. I spent the last three years of my time as an MSP on the cross-party Health and Sport Committee. Week in and week out we took evidence from health ministers, doctors’ associations, academics and unions. We prepared reports for government, led debates and travelled round the country listening to professionals and patients.
Since my retirement I have had time to think about the next steps for our ailing health service. We need a refreshed approach to revitalise our NHS for the next 75 years, so may I suggest a five-point-plan for starters?
Funding: We need to align our spending on health with the richer EU countries (the EU 14). Average day-to-day health spending in the UK between 2010 and 2019 was 18 per cent below the EU14 average. Whilst health is devolved in Scotland, there are financial consequences from the UK.
Staffing: Workload, workforce planning and increasing retention rates must be key areas to examine. Pay is clearly a source of dissatisfaction for frontline staff and needs to be commensurate with the value our society places on them.
Technology: We need to get smarter about the use of tech. For example, 400 Highland patients a year have to travel to the central belt for a PET scan used to investigate confirmed cases of cancer. A scanner based at Raigmore Hospital would reduce inconvenience for local patients and increase the range of expertise available locally, as well as improving early diagnostic rates – a better outcome for patients and reduced costs longer-term.
Self-care: Improving health awareness and promotion for all – particularly children – in areas such as diet and exercise will have long term gains.
Philosophy: Do we have the right model and shape of health provision? Should we follow the example of Nairn’s Town and Country Hospital, which is an excellent model for rural, wrap-around healthcare?
Our NHS is in crisis. Long-term planning, not a sticking plaster, is the answer.
