It makes sense to compare the health policies of Scotland, England and Wales
In response to Brian Monteith’s article saying the SNP must accept responsibility for the state of the NHS (Perspective, 15 January), I feel compelled to respond to his criticism of myself and make the following points:
Firstly, in terms of comparisons, health statistics are not collated as part of a competition but to measure performance and identify areas where improvement is required.
However, when misleading information is bandied about by the media and politicians alike (both the BBC and the sacked UK Health Minster Philip Dunne had been misrepresenting the Scottish figures), it is important to set the record straight, not least for the dedicated NHS staff left feeling demoralised when their work is being attacked despite Scotland’s Nhs-leading A&E performance in the UK since March 2015.
Believe me, as a surgeon for over 30 years, this really does affect the morale of staff, particularly when they’ve just come off a long, arduous shift.
In the article, Brian states that politicians are answerable for the performance of the health service for which they are responsible. Being a health minister is challenging in any country, especially in winter, with opposition parties all claiming that they would manage the challenges easily, but how to test their policies? The three main parties in Scotland are each in charge of one of the UK Health Services: the SNP running NHS Scotland, the Tories NHS England, and Labour the NHS in Wales. It is, therefore, perfectly reasonable to compare their health policies and how they actually run these services – Brian can’t have it both ways!
As for my comments during the referendum, what I raised was the extensive outsourcing of healthcare in England to private companies, like Virgin, Capita, and indeed, Carillion, and how this has led to competition rather than cooperation and is costing over £5 billion a year in bureaucracy.
The latest reorganisation of NHS England into Accountable Care Organisations is even being challenged through judicial review by medical leaders in England.
The system in Scotland is, of course, not perfect and faces the same challenges of increased demand, workforce shortages and tight budgets, but it is not handicapped by the fragmentation which is undermining NHS England. It is indeed a political decision not to follow this agenda in Scotland, and last year the Nuffield Trust praised NHS Scotland’s integrated structure and its focus on quality improvement and patient safety. This has undoubtedly contributed to Scotland’s stronger performance in providing emergency care and it is bizarre to suggest this is not open to political debate.
(DR) PHILIPPA WHITFORD MP SNP Health Spokesperson at Westminster