Scottish Government Debate: Taking Scotland Forward – Delivering a Healthier Scotland

Shona Robison S5M-00346 That the Parliament agrees that the NHS is the country’s most cherished public service and must remain free at the point of need and be publicly owned, funded and operated; further agrees that health and care services must continually evolve, including delivering the benefits of integration; recognises that meeting these challenges necessitates working in partnership across the health sector and the Parliament; believes that primary, community and social care and mental health should all receive an increasing share of the NHS budget each year to ensure that as many people as possible can lead fulfilling, independent lives; considers that health resource funding should increase above inflation every year, with the aim of being £500 million higher than real terms only increases by the end of this parliamentary session; supports a robust consultation process to help develop a new 10-year mental health strategy that cements the parity of status between mental and physical health; notes that the changes to the welfare system being put in place by the UK Government are exacerbating inequalities and putting more pressure on the NHS; considers that health inequalities will require an approach that looks beyond the NHS and that roots activity to address inequalities across government; agrees that the real living wage can help in addressing these inequalities; believes that it would be totally unacceptable if the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or any other trade agreement, were to go ahead without explicit protection for the NHS and public services on the face of the agreement, and calls on the UK Government to demand that this be included. Donald Cameron S5M-00346.4 As an amendment to motion S5M-00346 in the name of Shona Robison (Taking Scotland Forward - Delivering a Healthier Scotland), leave out from “notes” to end and insert “believes that the time has come for a review of targets in the NHS to assess whether they are having a positive effect on patient care; aims to put patients at the centre of a flexible decision making process across health and care services; approves of the UK Government’s decision to include protection for the NHS in the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, and calls for a programme of government that will secure the sustainability of the health service for the next generation and beyond”. Anas Sarwar S5M-00346.3 As an amendment to motion S5M-00346 in the name of Shona Robison (Taking Scotland Forward - Delivering a Healthier Scotland), insert at end "; further recognises the link between early diagnosis, treatment time and positive outcomes when dealing with cancer, Scotland’s biggest killer, and therefore believes that the Scottish Government must also prioritise achieving the 62-day cancer waiting time standard, which has not been achieved for over three years, and further ensure that, if a GP suspects that a patient has cancer, they should be entitled to see a specialist and get results within a fortnight".