Saviour of the NHS? Tell that to doctors

ONE of the most audacious acts performed by the SNP on its path to power was the positioning of itself as the party of the National Health Service.

The NHS may have been the creation of a post-war Labour government and may enjoy the support of all mainstream parties, but the Nationalists declared that only they could preserve it.

As opposition spokesman on health and then, after the SNP’s first Holyrood victory in 2007, as a Cabinet Secretary, Nicola Sturgeon was the face of this particular bit of revisionism. It says much about her gifts as a political performer that she was able to convince voters the NHS would thrive under her leadership.

Now First Minister, Miss Sturgeon cannot look back with pride at her party’s stewardship of the health service over the past decade. The SNP may have promised a resource fit for the 21st century but the experiences of patients – despite the dedication of staff – tell us that objective has not been achieved.

Failure to hit waiting time targets is par for the course; stories of the human cost of underfunded facilities are all too common.

The SNP, far from being a worthy custodian of the NHS, has used it to score political points while neglecting the need for reform and failing to get a grip on a growing crisis in recruitment. Bluntly, Miss Sturgeon is far better at saying she’s going to defend the NHS than she is at actually doing so.

And make no mistake, the health service is under attack – by impossible demands made on it by an SNP Government that so often seems to see it as a political pawn.

The NHS is being attacked by budget cuts and by the use of tens of millions of pounds to fund free prescriptions for the wealthy while other areas suffer.

Now it has emerged that, since the SNP came to power, almost 3,000 doctors have moved overseas to work. These medics were trained in Scotland but prefer to practise in Australian, Canada, or the United States.

Hundreds of them are GPs, a fact which might explain why patient lists at so many surgeries are so terribly over-subscribed.

Miss Sturgeon rose to power while proclaiming herself the saviour of the NHS. It is abundantly clear she has presided over a period of decline in the service. Her successor as Health Secretary, Shona robison, inspires even less confidence.

The royal College of GPs warns Scotland will soon be short of 850 general practitioners. Miss Sturgeon should be ashamed.

The time for action has come. We need to hear from the SNP a clear and workable strategy for retaining medical staff in the Scottish NHS after training.

Miss Sturgeon is not, it would appear, the saviour of the Scottish NHS. If she does not act swiftly and decisively, her legacy may be the damage inflicted on the service during her time in office.