High praise for health minister

Sir, – Your columnist Jenny Hjul attacks Scottish Health Minister Shona Robison for the failings of Tayside Health Board, which has been having financial problems in recent years, particularly since 2012, coincidentally around the time when UK Tory Government austerity was being ramped up.

Ms Robison is not in direct control of THB, but has stepped in to replace those who were in charge and, contrary to Ms Hjul’s accusations of “incompetence” and presiding over “crumbling health care”, she actually has a very impressive track record during her period in charge of the Scottish NHS.

For example, under Ms Robison’s capable stewardship, NHS Scotland has maintained very high performance levels, close to their rigorous targets, and patient satisfaction is at an all-time high.

In comparison with the NHS in England, Scotland has performed to a high standard: A and E performance is more than 10% better than England; kidney transplants are up 27% in Scotland, whereas in England they are at an eight-year low; bed blocking in Scotland fell by 10% in one year, whereas in England it rose.

There are countless other examples.

Ms Robison has been involved, more or less continuously, in the running of the Scottish health service since 2003, and the benefits of her long experience can be seen in the high quality service provided, as exampled above.

In contrast, the UK Health Minister Stephen Barclay, with no previous experience in health, has been in post for four months, transferred from the treasury, presumably to implement further cuts.

Les Mackay. 5 Carmichael Gardens, Dundee.