It’s an honour to do this job. But the NHS is not just about helping people who are sick get better, it’s about helping them live the kind of lives they want
New Health Secretary reveals debt of gratitude
Scotland’s new Health Secretary has vowed to make cut ting waiting times, recruiting GPs and integrating social care her top priorities.
Former nurse Jeane Freeman spoke of her “honour and privilege” at being given the top cabinet post in Nicola Sturgeon’s reshuffle last week.
Freeman also warned Brexit presents the greatest threat to the 70-year- old institution, and insisted privatisation would not creep in on her watch.
In an exclusive interview with the Sunday Mail, Freeman said: “A number of my family worked for the NHS and I was a nurse for a while, so I have huge admiration for what the thousands of health service staff do every day.
“I know decisions I make will have an impact on people’s lives, so it’s a genuinely humbling honour and privilege.”
The Health Secretary told of her determination to not just maintain but improve the NHS that her family owe a debt of gratitude to.
She said: “I remember when my dad had a coronary in his mid- 50s. He was hospitalised for a while and was then at home recovering but was unfit to go back to work, which was very hard for him.
“Fast forward 25 years and my father-in-law had a similar problem.
“He was admitted to the Golden Jubilee hospital [in Clydebank] for one day, had two stents fitted, and is now fit as a flea.
“That’s such a great example of how our treatment and care has advanced significantly in a relatively short period of time.
“It’s not just about helping people who are sick get better, it’s about helping people live the kind of lives they want to live.
“My dad died in 1993 but the NHS still absolutely saved his life after his coronary.
“However, the innovations weren’t there to allow him to have the life that my father-in-law is able to have.
“In years to come, I want younger members of my family to benefit even more again. I now have a responsibility to make sure that happens.”
Despite only being a few days into the job, Freeman revealed she has identified key areas that need improvement.
The former social security minister said: “I can see we need to focus attention a bit more sharply on waiting times, we need to continue our drive to invest in integrating health and social care.
“We also need to look at our workforce plan with a view to the recruitment of additional GPs.
“Those are some of the main challenges that we need to address quickly.
“One of the great successes of the NHS is that we’re living longer but that poses different demands on the service and we need to adapt and change to meet those demands.
“I believe integrated health and social
care is really important. It’s about a recognition that people want to be treated as close to home as they can be.
“We need to invest money to bring those care services closer to people rather than requiring them to be hospitalised when acute hospital care is not what they need.”
Freeman insisted the greatest danger to the NHS in Scotland was Brexit and its impact on the ability to recruit staff and build medical knowledge.
The Health Secretary added: “Brexit is the No1 threat to our health service.
“There are two big worries – one is the nature of trade deals that are put into the mix when we leave the EU.
“It could be they want to open up the NHS for private enterprise, and though our NHS is separate, it’s difficult to resist that if challenged.
“The other huge challenge is the free movement of workers. That’s not just about the nurses on our wards, it’s also about the quality of our research.
“We attract consultants and senior doctors from around Europe because they want to benefit from the quality of our health service and also the quality of research happening between our hospitals and universities.”
Freeman, 64, spoke about her previous membership of the Labour Party and Communist Party and what her politics will bring to the new job.
She added: “I was a member of the Communist Party when I was young. I then left and was a member of Labour for some time and left, and I am now in the SNP. I’m perfectly comfortable there.
“The common thread is a belief in a society that looks after the most vulnerable and people with most need.
“So I have a strong belief in social justice and compassion and I want to bring that to this job.
“I’m not a Marxist. I left the Communist Party because there is only so far that comfortable armchair theory can take you.
“You either want to make change or you don’t and Marxism was not going to do that for me.”
And she promised that the NHS in Scotland would not be opened up to privatisation.
She said: “I don’t think you can square the delivery of a public service which is to be free at the point of delivery with a deliverer who, as a private company, has a legitimate aim of making profit.
“The health service in Scotland is not privatised, and certainly it won’t be by me or this government.”
It emerged last week that four NHS boards will need loans to balance their budgets this year – with Ayrshire and Arran, Tayside, Highland and Borders boards requiring £70.9million of loans.
Freeman’s predecessor Shona Robison was criticised for her handling of Tayside’s accounting failures.
But her successor said: “Shona was an excellent health secretary and there is testament to that in what has been said across the political spectrum.
“Every health secretary will face criticism. I don’t know the detail of the Tayside situation but I do know that health boards have a degree of responsibility.
“We are really clear about the probity and integrity with which we expect them to operate.”