Politicians must act on real reform of NHS

We need bold leadership on how we create and sustain a health service that works properly and how we fund it

Politicians from across the spectrum are engaged in a perpetual battle to be seen as the true guardians of the National Health Service.

The NHS is always a central issue during election campaigns, with opposing parties making increasingly attractive – and often undeliverable – promises.

But while politicians may talk a good game on the health service, the reality is that Scotland’s NHS is in desperate need of real reform. Pledges about reduced waiting times might create eye-catching headlines but these simplistic promises don’t even begin to address the real and significant problems faced by NHS staff.

A report carried in today’s Scotsman about the body of a care home resident lying in her room for a full day because a shortage of out-of-hours GPS meant there was no on-call doctor available to certify her death makes for disturbing reading. This troubling situation is, we fear, just one symptom of a lack of investment in the NHS.

A shortage of out-of-hours GPS is, undoubtedly, a matter for concern but we need more of these professionals not to ensure death certification is done in a timely manner but to deal with the pressing needs of the living.

Hospitals across Scotland report problems in attracting medical staff, while many facilities are outdated and in need of replacement.

The NHS requires constant reform. Advances in medical science along with an expanding elderly population mean that what might be fit for purpose today may be unsuitable a year hence.

And so we do not require action from Government simply to address a shortage of out-of-hours GPS, we require bold leadership on how we create and sustain a health service that works properly.

This will require a difficult discussion about how we fund the NHS. No politician wishes to talk about the subject of taxes unless they are promising to cut them but the renovation of the health service will, we believe, require either the redistribution of money from another area or an increase in taxation.

The Scottish Government has dabbled with the use of Holyrood’s taxvarying powers but, if the NHS is to meet the needs of the people, then our political leaders will have to do much more.

Simple policies such as the provision of free prescriptions for all might tell us a flattering story about a national tendency towards compassion but building an NHS fit for the times will require the Government to put our money where its mouth is.