Health

"The NHS is the embodiment of Scottish Labour’s values of fairness. We are committed to a patient-centred NHS, where the weakest and most vulnerable people can find care and compassion and where treatment is provided on the basis of need, not the ability to pay.

"In uncertain times, ordinary people want to know that this principle will prevail, that their healthcare will be protected and that they will continue to have access to first-class services. Scottish Labour will always stand up for the NHS.

"Seeing working people struggle to balance their job with caring for an elderly or sick relative is not going to get our country back on its feet. Being burdened with the consequences of ill health, whilst ignoring its root causes, is not the foundation for a strongerScotland.

"In our fast-paced and ever-changing world, Scottish Labour will deliver a dynamic NHS which is equipped and ready to face the challenges of the future."

- Iain Gray, Scottish Labour Leader

Our promises to Scotland

• Prioritise the protection of NHS jobs, with no compulsory redundancies for NHS staff, to maintain the focus on the highest standards of care for patients
• Deliver a National Care Service within the lifetime of the next parliament, to provide the right care at the right time for people inScotland
• Introduce a new right to see a cancer specialist and get results within two weeks by 2015, halving the current waiting time
• Deliver free swimming lessons for Scotland’s primary school children through a new Commonwealth Swimming Fund
• Support the NHS through a time of unprecedented financial pressure by delivering bold efficiency measures, including immediately cutting the number of special health boards and merging IT systems

Protecting the NHS
Scottish Labour will support the NHS in the face of unprecedented financial pressures, protecting the NHS budget in Scotland and passing on all Barnett consequentials for health. We will prioritise the protection of NHS jobs, ensuring that there are no compulsory redundancies for staff within the NHS partnership model.  We reject the UK government proposals to introduce market values to the NHS and will ensure that in Scotland the NHS remains a public service, publicly delivered.

Whilst protecting NHS spending, we cannot allow a single penny to be spent without achieving maximum efficiency.  Our commitment to driving down costs will focus on the elimination of waste, so that we can protect jobs and patient care on the frontline.  We will review all NHS bonus schemes, performance-related pay, merit and distinction awards and reduce the number of health boards, immediately cutting the number of special health boards as a first step. We will also look to merge IT systems and drive better asset management, such as the sale of unused land. We believe there are further efficiencies to be made in the prescribing of medicines, including the use of generic medicines and streamlining the system for repeat prescriptions. Every pound of efficiency savings generated by the NHS will stay in the NHS.

 

Improving delivery
The challenges of a fast-paced 21st century Scotland require a modern, dynamic health service that does not shy away from change. Scottish Labour is committed to shifting the focus of the NHS inScotland , from being a reactive service for ill health, towards being a local, proactive, patient-centred service for health and well-being.

Too many people enter the healthcare system or are admitted to hospital for medical treatment when we know that the right support, at the right time, would have prevented ill health and enabled them to remain in their own home.  Whilst retaining our commitment to free personal care, Scottish Labour will deliver a new National Care Service to provide the right care in the right setting. Not only will this be a first step towards ending the postcode lottery in care, but it will also tackle delayed discharge, which is costing the NHS millions. We will restore dignity in care and end 15 minute home care visits.

We are determined to find new ways of providing health services that are as local as possible and, as a start, will maintain A&E services at Monklands andAyr hospitals. We will support the use of community hospitals and take steps to ensure that patients have access to treatment as close to their homes as is safely possible. We also believe that, even in a difficult economic climate, it should be possible for people at the end of their lives to be cared for and die in the place of their choice.

We will evaluate the current pilots of public participation and direct elections to health boards, to ensure greater democratic accountability for the health service. Scottish Labour will review and reform Community Health and Care Partnerships, to ensure that they are better placed to act as a democratic delivery model for the new National Care Service and to better involve local authorities, patient groups and voluntary organisations. We will ensure that the NHS has the right mix of skills, including specialist nurses for conditions such as cancer or epilepsy, and a range of allied health professionals, such as physiotherapists, occupational, speech and language therapists.

We will revise health and social care procurement procedures, ending e-auctions for social care contracts and introducing quality standards.

Scottish Labour will review the health service’s resilience to winter weather conditions, with a particular focus on capacity in rural areas. We will ensure that the needs of vulnerable people are met, for example, through a national helpline when bad weather strikes.


Better, cleaner hospitals
Patients and their families have a right to know that when they go into hospital, they will be treated in safe conditions. Scottish Labour’s priority will be to eliminate superbugs in the NHS and we will work towards implementing a refreshed 15-point plan, drawn-up with two of theUK’s leading health experts, Professors Hugh Pennington and Brian Toft.

Scottish Labour will also support research into the causes and treatments of healthcare associated infections, such as C.Diff andMRSA , and will establish a properly resourced reference laboratory to ensure we look ahead to proactively identify and quickly deal with new infections. We further believe that individual rooms should be prioritised during the building of new hospitals, to aid infection control.

We believe that there is a serious gap in care for children and adult sufferers of chronic pain in Scotland and it is wrong to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds sending Scottish patients on journeys of hundreds of miles to seek treatment in England. Scottish Labour will seek to deliver increased action and awareness of chronic pain in primary care and throughout the NHS, look to enhance managed clinical networks for chronic pain and provide the option of residential treatment for sufferers, based on the model of Bronllys inWales. For those suffering from long-term conditions, we will also retain the Self Management Fund for patients beyond 2011.


A focus on fairness
Scottish Labour’s founding vision for the NHS was to establish a service that provides universal care of the highest standards. This principle remains as important today as it was 60 years ago. It is unacceptable that health inequality is still so strongly linked to income levels, poverty and deprivation and that quality of provision varies from one part ofScotland to another. Scottish Labour will work to end the postcode lottery in healthcare, ensuring that our services provide equal treatment, free at the point of need, in every part ofScotland . We will, for example, consider measures to help equalise access to IVF services and expand the provision of insulin pumps for young people.

To ensure equitable access to hospitals, Scottish Labour will seek to complete the abolition of hospital parking charges by investigating if this can also be achieved inPPP-owned and managed car park. With Scottish Labour, there will be no reintroduction of charges for prescriptions in Scotland.

We will continue to invest in NHS dentistry in Scotland and pursue the aspirations for improving patient access and reducing oral health inequalities set out in Labour’s Dental Action Plan. We will also maintain free eye and dental checks for patients.

We will ensure fairness for Scotland’s veterans and will continue to develop a programme for their health support, including support for those who have been deployed by the Territorial Army.
 

Tackling waiting times
Despite real progress, cancer still blights the lives of too many Scottish families. Scottish Labour will introduce a new right to see a cancer specialist and get results within two weeks by 2015, halving the current waiting time of one month, where clinically appropriate. We will also pledge support for the programme of financial advice projects for patients at the five main cancer centres acrossScotland.

 
Preventative healthcare
It is no longer enough that our health system deals with the consequences of ill health. If we want Scotland to be as competitive as it can be, we must be bolder in the shift towards preventative healthcare.

We want to tackle Scotland’s problem with obesity and support people across Scotland to lead a healthy and active life. We will sustain and improve on existing provisions for breakfast and lunch clubs in schools and continue to target nurture classes and nutritional support at those children living in the most deprived communities. We will also introduce a new Nutrition Bill.

We will get Scotland’s children moving by working towards 2 hours of quality PE in every school,  encouraging free access to swimming pools for children and older people and delivering free swimming lessons for primary school children via a new Commonwealth Swimming Fund.

Scottish Labour will deliver a National Strategy for Action on Alcohol, to identify fair and effective measures to tackle alcohol abuse. We must break the cycle of abusive behaviour and take a long-term approach to change the culture of drinking inScotland . We will continue to support measures to prevent irresponsible alcohol promotions. We will crack down on the sale of alcohol to under eighteens through greater use of test purchasing and by encouraging bottle tagging.  Following the examples elsewhere in Europe and in America, we want to see action taken to limit the permitted levels of caffeine in pre-mixed alcoholic drinks, which have been linked to anti-social behaviour.  We will promote alcohol awareness across all age and income groups and build on current good practice by supporting local alcohol partnerships.

To ensure those who have serious alcohol problems get the help they need, we will build on the success of Drug Treatment and Testing Orders by piloting the use of Alcohol Treatment and Testing Orders inScotland and we will invest in support services for those who need them.

Scottish Labour led the UK in banning smoking in enclosed public spaces. We remain determined to do even more to tackle Scotland’s high smoking rates. We will introduce a revised Tobacco Control Strategy that will tighten up the loopholes in legislation to prevent tobacco advertising on merchandise. We will consult on the desirability of a ban on smoking in cars that are carrying child-passengers.

To investigate the potential efficiencies created by early intervention for those with hearing loss, Scottish Labour will support a hearing screening pilot forScotland.

Scottish Labour will ensure that age-appropriate education on relationships and sexual health is available to all age groups, in schools and by other means.

Workplace and occupational health is important and in partnership with employers and trade unions, health awareness and promotion within the workplace will be improved and expanded.

Building on action to compensate victims, Scottish Labour will support research into asbestos-related illnesses, such as mesothelioma. In recognition of the loss and suffering caused by contaminated blood and blood products, we will act on the recommendations of the Penrose inquiry when it reports.

 
Mental health
Scottish Labour recognises mental health as a key public health concern. We will deliver a Mental Health Strategy that addresses the lifelong nature of some mental illness and the need for social support and advocacy in this area. As part of the strategy, we will ensure a review of the progress made towards tackling eating disorders, including taking action to establish how many people have been diagnosed with eating disorders and supporting education on the illnesses through the school system.

Scottish Labour will also take swift action to review how the early intervention of talking and other therapies can help to reduce the number of people who are on antidepressants and other medicines, and work in partnership with employers and trade unions to launch a programme to promote positive attitudes to mental health in the workplace.

For older people, we want to ensure those with late-life depression and anxiety are diagnosed and supported. We also aim to expand the provision of services for those with dementia and Alzheimer’s, to improve the management of these patients in acute hospital settings and to ensure that every area of the country has access to improved services.