Neil Gray
Scottish National Party · Scotland
“I welcome the fact that, through the police and the courts, our justice system is ensuring that justice is done. Victims show enormous bravery and trust in our legal system in reporting crime, and I want that to continue.”
“The Scottish Government-funded Caledonian system is a good example of a community-based programme that aims to address the behaviour of men who have been convicted of domestic abuse, alongside providing support to affected women and children.”
“On the day after my appointment as justice secretary, I visited HMP Edinburgh to see the level of pressure that the Scottish Prison Service is facing due to an increasing prison population. It is clear that staff want to focus on rehabilitation and reducing reoffending but that it is increasingly difficult for them to do so.”
“Scotland shows a clear and persistent trend of increasing the length of average custodial sentences, including a 37 per cent rise between 2014-15 and 2023-24.”
“However, although the operational impact that will result from the changes is expected to be minimal, I still advise the Parliament to give legislative consent to the relevant sections of the bill.”
“I note my thanks and appreciation to the Parliament for expediting consideration of this legislative consent motion. It is regrettable that we are having to expedite scrutiny on an LCM, which is due to the UK Government’s timetabling for the National Security (State Threats) Bill.”
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“Will the minister now commit to revising the NHS Scotland resource allocation committee funding formula to make sure that rural funding meets rural health needs and that health boards such as NHS Dumfries and Galloway are not left in an impossible situation? Neil Gray: I will point out to Craig Hoy a couple of facts about NRAC and the funding position. NRAC explicitly takes account of rurality and the challenge of delivering services in rural and island communities. That directly contradicts Mr Hoy’s understanding of NRAC. When it comes to the financing of health boards across Scotland, we delivered at the budget a £21.7 billion funding settlement for health and social care services in Scotland. That was a record funding settlement, which the Tories opposed.”
“Craig Hoy: The escalation of the health board to stage 3 is a genuine concern for people across the NHS Dumfries and Galloway area, many of whom already struggle to access healthcare. The picture across Scotland is one in which health boards are under extreme pressure to make significant cost savings, rather than focusing on the day-to-day job of delivering the highest standards of healthcare. Through its funding formula, the Scottish National Party Government has, in effect, left rural health boards high and dry and fending for themselves. It is systematically failing rural Scotland due to the skewed funding formula.”
“The NHS Scotland support and intervention framework is one of the key elements of monitoring performance and managing risk across the national health service in Scotland. All NHS boards are continuously reviewed against that framework, based on their financial performance. The decision was taken to escalate NHS Dumfries and Galloway to stage 3 of the framework for finance. That will include increased oversight and co-ordinated engagement, ensuring that the board is provided with the appropriate support and that it returns to financial sustainability. Regular updates will be provided to ministers on the financial position of NHS Dumfries and Galloway following the escalation.”
“However, following NHS Grampian’s escalation, officials have been working with NHS Grampian to confirm the additional funding based on the development of its whole-system plan, taking into account the recommendations that were made in the KPMG report. Through the assurance board process, extensive work is under way with NHS Grampian to develop robust whole- system work so that its share of the £85 million of unscheduled care funding can be allocated. I expect hospital at home to be part of that consideration.”
“Following a pilot in Westhill, the health and social care partnership had to pull out due to a lack of support and resources from the Scottish Government. The service is available just a few miles away in the city, but the shire is left with stacked ambulances, two-tier healthcare, general practitioner practices shutting down and village hospitals shutting. Is there anywhere else in Scotland that will not be running hospital at home? Will the cabinet secretary now provide resources to the shire for it to proceed? Neil Gray: I am grateful to Liam Kerr for his questions. As he will know, decisions on how to deliver services for local communities are ultimately for integration authorities to make. In this case, it is the Aberdeenshire integration joint board.”
“Our approach to reform focuses on primary and community care, aiming to shift the balance of care where appropriate for people and their families. Our immediate focus is on enhancing capacity in the community, and work is under way to increase hospital at home provision to 2,000 beds by December 2026, meaning that people can receive hospital-level care in their own homes. To ensure that all of our population can access a hospital at home service that meets their needs, we have commissioned Healthcare Improvement Scotland to support integration authorities to adapt services to meet the needs of rural and island communities. Liam Kerr: I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer, but the hospital at home initiative, which he mentioned, is not currently available in Aberdeenshire.”
“On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My app did not connect. I would have voted no. The Presiding Officer: Thank you, Mr Gray. We will ensure that that is recorded.”
“I move amendment S6M-18671.4, to leave out from “welcomes” to end and insert: “recognises that the Scottish Government has failed to take action on the priorities of taxpayers, like cutting NHS waiting lists, fixing crumbling roads and stimulating economic growth; acknowledges that, despite repeatedly raising taxes, public services have not improved in Scotland; laments that, increasingly, the Scottish Government has focused on its obsession with independence, as well as fringe issues like gender reform and subjects wholly outside its remit like foreign affairs; notes with concern that Scotland continues to have a bloated public sector, with a huge number of quangos that often have overlapping functions and remits; argues that public money would be better spent being diverted to frontline services rather than on the bureaucratic state, and calls for the Scottish Ministers to prioritise economic growth and improving public services rather than yet another push for an independence referendum.” 15:34”
“A failing economy will mean only more of the same, from what is a failing Government. That is the choice that the Parliament faces over the next eight months: take the path towards prosperity or stay on the SNP’s road to nowhere. That is the choice that the country will face next year: a continued slide into stagnation under the SNP or a new way forward for the common good.”
“The SNP needs to abandon the folly of its economics, which prioritise abstract and woke thinking—does anyone really know what the wellbeing economy actually is? The only way to change is to put our focus instead on Scotland’s economic renewal. Opportunity and aspiration, productivity and profit—that is where my party stands. We are going to reconnect with the astute values of mainstream Scotland. Fergus Ewing: [Made a request to intervene.] The Deputy Presiding Officer: Mr Findlay is bringing his remarks to a close. Russell Findlay: We will focus on efficient spending, champion self-reliance, demand freedom for people to aspire and to succeed, and bring forward common-sense solutions to cut red tape. A thriving economy gives us a chance to fix public services.”
“John Swinney knows only how to squeeze more out of workers and businesses while imposing more rules that stifle innovation and expansion. For more than 18 years of SNP rule, our economy has been in decline. The business community feels overlooked or ignored. Workers do not get new opportunities from the SNP—just higher bills. The entire SNP economic model is at breaking point. Our country cannot afford to keep spending so much on a huge and unreformed public sector and an ever-growing benefits bill. It is unsustainable to always take more and spend more. It is unfair to expect people to continually forfeit more of their own hard-earned money just to watch Holyrood politicians throw it down the drain. More of the same reckless agenda from John Swinney risks the solvency of Scotland.”
“We have to create the conditions for Scotland’s economic renewal, repair the relationship between Parliament and business, and nurture an environment in which more people have the confidence to start a business. More of the same from John Swinney is just not an option. Members must look at where we are now. Four out of every five small and medium-sized enterprises in Scotland believe that their very survival is at risk over the next 12 months. Just one in 10 Scottish firms thinks that the Scottish Government understands the business environment. A report from the Confederation of British Industry and the Fraser of Allander Institute found that the Scottish economy is struggling to keep pace with the UK-wide economy on almost every metric.”
“Mistakes such as backing Liz Truss. Russell Findlay: We are really not the only ones, Neil Gray, who should be doing that. Neil Gray: I did not back Liz Truss. The Deputy Presiding Officer: Cabinet secretary, please desist. Russell Findlay: He is very noisy when he is sat down—he has a big mouth when he is sat down. The only way that any of us will win back public trust and earn the right to represent people is if we do things differently. In the eight months ahead, the Parliament has the opportunity to do that, rather than fritter away endless time on debates that achieve nothing except for letting MSPs feel good about themselves. We need to use that time to kick-start Scotland’s economy and get it growing again. We must make that a top priority. The focus of the Parliament should be on the creation of jobs and the expansion of business.”
“We need international workers in health and care—Donald Macaskill has said so, clearly. Perhaps Jackie Baillie could help us in recruiting the staff that we need for health and social care by convincing her Government to deliver a migration system— The Presiding Officer: Briefly, cabinet secretary. Neil Gray: —that works for the health and social care system in Scotland, rather than making it harder for us to recruit.”
“That is why we are delivering a record settlement for health and social care services and directing targeted interventions around waiting times. However, it is a bit rich for Jackie Baillie to criticise the Scottish Government for private admissions, given that there were 240 private admissions in Scotland per 100,000 of the population, whereas the figure in England is 54 per cent higher, at 370 admissions per 100,000. Jackie Baillie has come here with negativity. She has not supported the positive interventions that have come forward. However, I have one area of positive intervention—this is serious—that Jackie Baillie could support us with. Home Office figures show that there was a 77 per cent reduction in the number of health and care worker visas that were approved by the United Kingdom Government in the year to mid-2025.”
“That is the difference that a Scottish National Party Government can make. Jackie Baillie: That is interesting, because I spend most of my time listening and talking to staff, and the cabinet secretary’s response is an indication of how desperate he is. He does not like the message, so he simply attacks the messenger. New figures from yesterday show that the number of private hospital and clinic admissions in Scotland are the highest on record. The cabinet secretary failed to mention that. Is it not the case that the SNP’s neglect of the NHS has led to a two-tier health service, is letting down staff and is continuing to fail the 880,000 patients who are waiting in pain? Neil Gray: Of course I want to ensure that NHS capacity in Scotland is able to deal with demand.”
“Despite John Swinney’s promise of action last year, the number of people waiting in Scotland has gone up and is at a staggering 880,000—a record high. Can the cabinet secretary tell us why it has gone up? Neil Gray: I note from that question that Jackie Baillie refused to offer thanks to the staff for their efforts in improving performance over the recent quarter or welcome the progress that has been made. However, we are making progress. We have delivered a record number of hip and knee operations in the national health service over the past year. We continue to make improvements, as this morning’s figures demonstrate. That is why the most recent comparable analysis, to go back to February, shows that we are delivering faster levels of increased activity than the NHS in England.”
“Child and adolescent mental health services waiting time standards have been met for a third time in a row, and we had the lowest number of eight and 12-hour waits in accident and emergency departments for any month since September 2023, despite July attendance being the highest of any July in the past six years. Those are encouraging signs that efforts to improve access and efficiency are delivering results, and my thanks go to the staff for their incredible efforts. Jackie Baillie: That was so much spin from the cabinet secretary that he must be positively dizzy. I am afraid that his excuses will not wash with the 14,963 people who have been waiting for more than two years for an operation. The numbers of operations are still lower than the pre-pandemic level.”
“We are investing a record £21.7 billion in health and social care this year, in a budget that Jackie Baillie refused to support. The focused investment coming from that budget is delivering tangible improvements in health and social care performance. Statistics that were published this morning, which I am sure that Jackie Baillie will wish to welcome, show just a few examples. In July 2025, the number of operations performed was at its highest level in more than five years. For planned care, new out-patient activity and in-patient and day-case activity have increased, with in-patient and day-case waiting lists down compared with the last quarter.”
“Maurice Golden: Ninewells hospital has served the people of Dundee for more than 50 years, but the difficulty and costs of maintaining the ageing building are growing. That raises the question whether Tayside would be better served by a new hospital. Will the cabinet secretary conduct a review that compares the cost-effectiveness of continued maintenance versus a new facility? Neil Gray: I refer back to the conclusion of my first answer to Maurice Golden, when I said that we will be asking NHS Tayside to identify its three strategic capital priorities. That is the review that he is asking for, and it will inform the whole- system NHS infrastructure investment plan. We will await its priorities with interest. NHS Lothian (Education and Tutoring for Sick Children) 7.”
“The Scottish Government has increased NHS Tayside’s formula capital by 5 per cent for essential maintenance and equipment replacement. We have also approved projects to progress with multiyear essential maintenance upgrades for electrical and ventilation systems at Ninewells hospital and Perth royal infirmary, which will require more than £60 million of investment. Over the next two years, we will also provide £12 million of capital funding to take over the lease of four general practitioner practices, which are Comrie medical centre, Stanley medical practice, Arthurstone medical centre and Nethergate medical practice. We are also working with all health boards to develop a whole-system national health service infrastructure investment plan, and we will shortly be asking NHS Tayside to identify its three strategic capital priorities.”
“We have more to do to ensure that trainees are able to get into employment, and we are working with the British Medical Association’s general practice committee on finding a sustainable route through the funding pressures, which are hindering the employment of GPs in Scotland. I point Mr Lumsden to the Scottish graduate entry medicine programme—ScotGEM—which specifically covers rural medical degrees, to ensure that doctors coming through the system have rural medical training so that we can support rural communities that need access to general practitioners here in”
“Last week, NHS Grampian announced £23 million- worth of spending cuts, which will mean stopping certain face-to-face appointments and giving routine test results only over the phone or by letter. What steps are being taken to improve long- term workforce planning for medical services in places such as Inverurie, to ensure sustainable staffing levels and continuity of care for local patients? Neil Gray: I reiterate to Douglas Lumsden the point that I made in my first answer: that we have a record GP training establishment in Scotland, which currently sits at 1,200 places.”
“I want to make it easier for people to see their GPs, and I am taking steps to address the challenges that general practice faces. That includes ensuring that a greater proportion of new national health service funding goes to primary and community care. GPs play an incredibly important role, and we want to see more of them in Scotland. That is why we are determined to increase the number of GPs by 800 by 2027, with an additional 360 GPs having been added since 2017. As of 11 November 2024, the GP specialty training establishment in Scotland stands at just over 1,200 places, which is a record level. Douglas Lumsden: A number of constituents have contacted me regarding their inability to get GP appointments within a reasonable timescale.”
“Neil Gray: I very much appreciate Oliver Mundell raising this issue on behalf of his constituents and his tenor in doing so. As I come from an island community, I recognise that travelling for healthcare and other services is a challenge and is often necessary, but we want to minimise the level of challenge and make services as accessible as possible. Following Oliver Mundell’s representation, I will, of course, raise that concern with NHS Dumfries and Galloway and explore the alternative options that he has set out. Yesterday, the Scottish Government set out the service renewal framework, which is about shifting the balance of care and using innovation and technology to provide people with more equitable access to services. The points that Oliver Mundell raises therefore very much align with our policy direction.”
“A recent public meeting saw more than 300 people crowd into the Buccleuch centre there, and one of the top issues that they raised was their difficulty in getting to Dumfries and Galloway royal infirmary in Dumfries. In a best-case scenario, the journey involves a round trip of six buses and takes more than four hours. That is not realistic for the elderly, the sick and those who are unable to drive. Given what the cabinet secretary has said, does he recognise that that is an unfair ask? Will he raise these concerns with the health board and ensure that alternative arrangements are put in place? For example, could the use of technology be increased, could some clinics be re-established at Thomas Hope hospital, and could more use be made of services at Carlisle hospital, as was the case in the past?”
“In October 2024, the Scottish Government published the transport to health delivery plan, which sets out commitments in relation to transport and healthcare across the work of the health and social care directorate and Transport Scotland. Through that plan, we will continue to work with national health service boards to re-emphasise the need for them to consider patient access as part of the care pathway. The plan also recognises that collaborative working among NHS boards, regional transport partnerships and other partners, such as community transport providers, is absolutely necessary in service planning and decision making, and that it helps to address patients having to travel longer distances to access healthcare. Oliver Mundell: Langholm is one of the places that the Scottish Government should start with.”
“Similarly, we expect the meaningful engagement of local clinical views, not least through the health board’s area clinical forum. The Government’s assurance board will look for evidence of meaningful partnership working in the development and implementation of NHS Grampian’s improvement plan, so that we can benefit from front-line staff’s ability to see a way to navigate through the challenges, as Mr Stewart has rightly pointed out.”
“Will the work that is being undertaken involve communicating with and, more importantly, listening to front-line staff, who often have the ability to resolve some of the difficulties that exist? Neil Gray: Yes, it absolutely will. I acknowledge, welcome and appreciate the work that Mr Stewart has consistently done to represent the interests of local staff, as well as patients. I agree that meaningful partnership working will be key in the successful development and implementation of NHS Grampian’s improvement plan. The board must work closely with its staff and trade union and professional organisation representatives in its area partnership forum. It must ensure that it listens and responds to concerns that staff raise and that staff views inform future activity.”
“My officials continue to work closely with NHS Grampian daily, and the Government remains committed to providing the health board with the support that it needs to stabilise and sustainably improve. One of the initial stages of the escalation is the whole-system diagnostic that we have commissioned, which involves KPMG reviewing key areas of NHS Grampian activity. We expect the initial findings of the review to be available by mid-July. In turn, that will inform a tailored package of support and the agreement of an improvement plan for NHS Grampian, with detailed actions and timescales. Kevin Stewart: A key thing that I have concerns about is the additional bureaucracies that NHS Grampian has put in place. One way of solving difficulties and getting the board back on track is to listen to the front-line staff who feel ignored.”
“The Deputy Presiding Officer: The cabinet secretary will now take questions on the issues raised in his statement. I intend to allow around 20 minutes for questions, after which we will move on to the next item of business. It would be helpful if members who wish to ask questions were to press their request-to-speak buttons.”
“I want to acknowledge the vital partnership with COSLA to develop both the frameworks. I call on partners across the Government, local authorities, the NHS, the third sector, business and communities to continue to work with us to deliver this ambition. We developed the frameworks together and I want to implement them together. I spoke earlier about all of us, with all our interests, working together to improve health. That applies to members in this chamber, too. I know that all members want our people to enjoy good health and for our services to be modern, joined up and efficient. Together, through shared purpose and co-ordinated action, we can build a system that not only treats illness but helps people to live longer, healthier and more fulfilling lives.”
“As part of that change, we will merge NHS National Services Scotland and NHS Education for Scotland. That will ensure that we are better equipped to deliver key priorities, including making progress on our digital ambitions. It will enable us to provide clear, streamlined support to local systems to deliver on once for Scotland services, both for NHS Scotland and, potentially, for the wider public sector. We are not proposing structural changes for the Scottish Ambulance Service and NHS 24, but we expect them to work much more closely together, supported by enhanced joint planning and co- ordination, building on existing collaboration. That will support transformational improvements in urgent care, so that people can access timely, appropriate support wherever and whenever they need it.”
“Through those principles and the major changes that we have set out in them, people will experience faster and fairer access to services; the workforce will have new opportunities to deliver care more effectively and efficiently; and we will create a system fit for the future. As the First Minister highlighted yesterday during his visit to the Queen Elizabeth university hospital, the renewal of Scotland’s essential public services must be rooted in a long-term vision that prioritises prevention and early intervention. Both the population health framework and the service renewal framework place prevention at their core. To support this transformation, we are bringing together existing national resources, which are currently spread across several national boards, into a single, co-ordinated body to be called NHS delivery.”
“For our workforce, our effort to capitalise on digital innovation means having the right digital access and information that they need to do the best job possible. That will streamline support, reduce their administrative workload and free them up to spend more time with patients and people. Digital systems and smarter ways of working are not just enhancements but essential enablers of reform. The ability to meet our health and social care reform objectives hinges on how effectively digital tools are deployed and making digital transformation a strategic imperative for sustainable, high-performing health and social care services. The transformation will be underpinned by strengthened governance, providing clear accountability, robust oversight and empowered leadership.”
“By rebalancing our resources, it will be easier for people to access services and a broader range of treatments closer to home. The fourth principle is population. We will plan services based on the needs of our populations and not according to administrative or geographical boundaries. The fifth principle is digital. We will embrace technology to improve people’s access to modern, joined-up and efficient services. People will have the choice to access information and services digitally in an inclusive manner. That means that more treatment will be delivered safely closer to home, whether someone lives in a town, in a rural village or on an island. For example, our digital front door service will mean that you can manage your condition, co-ordinate your appointments and see your diagnostic results all from your own phone.”
“It will ensure long-term financial sustainability, reduce health and care inequalities, further harness the benefits of digital technology and improve health outcomes for people in Scotland. Five principles that will shape the future of care in Scotland are at the service renewal framework’s core. The first is prevention. The population health framework looks to prevent illness occurring in the first place; the service renewal framework builds on that, with a focus on early detection and supporting those living with long-term conditions. The second principle is people. We will design care around individuals and not systems. People will be empowered to be more in charge of their care and more involved in the decisions about their support and treatment. The third principle is community.”
“The community and voluntary sector is uniquely situated to build trust, reach key population groups and support prevention through person-centred approaches, the delivery of critical services and the creation of community assets. That is the whole-system approach that public service reform requires, and we are grateful to our system leaders across all sectors for their work in developing the summaries. In tandem with the population health framework, the health and social care service renewal framework sets out a clear path to ensuring a sustainable, high-performing health and social care system that can meet the future demands and evolving needs of our population.”
“Developed by our business sector leaders, our community and voluntary sector leaders, our local government colleagues and national health service leaders, the summaries demonstrate the role that all sectors play in health and the opportunity that they all have to do more to improve health. The business sector influences health through good employment with fair incomes, through the goods and services that it produces and by supporting thriving local economies. The NHS plays a central role in improving health, not only through the delivery of healthcare but as an anchor institution that works in partnership with local communities to improve the building blocks of health. Local government offers a critical leadership role and collaborates through local partnerships to deliver public services that strengthen health.”
“This is the whole-system approach in action, delivering the decisive shift to prevention that the First Minister has called for. The approach follows the evidence; tackles the environment without blaming the individual; works with business and not against it; and involves all of us, across all our sectors and interests, working together. As we move through the next decade, the framework will evolve and adapt to future challenges, meeting emerging needs and driving progress where it is needed most. Today, alongside the framework, we have published four sector summaries on the roles that the whole system plays in creating health.”
“The framework focuses on two early priorities: hardwiring prevention into our systems—how we plan, deliver, budget and account—and improving healthy weight. We know the toll on the health of our people from being overweight or living with obesity, and we know that that is preventable. The evidence tells us that tackling the environment is key. That is why one of the first actions of the population health framework will be to legislate to make the balance of foods that are available on promotion healthier and to restrict the location of less healthy foods in our supermarkets. That is what clinical leaders who treat our people have called for, and we will align with similar legislation in England and Wales, which is what our business leaders have called for.”
“The core purpose of the population health framework is to improve life expectancy for everyone in Scotland and to reduce the unjust and avoidable gap between our most and least deprived communities. By shifting the focus from treating illness to preventing it, addressing the root causes of poor health and targeting our efforts where they are needed most, we can ensure lasting improvements for this generation and the next. Most of what affects our health happens outside health and care settings; it happens in homes, in nurseries and schools, in workplaces, and in parks and green spaces—it happens in each and every one of our communities. That is why the framework contains 30 initial actions across these drivers of health: good early years, jobs, income and powerful communities.”
“They are public service reform in action in our health and care system. The population health framework, which was co- developed with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, reflects our shared, long-term commitment to improving health and wellbeing across Scotland through a preventative, system- wide approach that addresses the broader drivers of health. Improving health and reducing inequality remains central to the Government’s ambition, yet we must face a hard truth: people in Scotland still experience vastly different health outcomes depending on where they live and the circumstances that they face. Too many people in our most deprived communities live shorter lives and spend more of those years in poor health. That cannot continue.”
“As the First Minister outlined earlier this year, we are taking bold and ambitious action to reform our health and care systems, delivering the transformation that the people of Scotland need and expect. Alongside the “NHS Scotland Operational Improvement Plan”, published in March, which is about improving service delivery now, the frameworks will drive forward public service reform in health and care, with a focus on prevention and on joined-up, efficient services. They provide clear direction on how we will plan and deliver services for the whole population over the next decade, while tackling the deep-rooted inequalities that continue to impact health and wellbeing across Scotland. As the First Minister set out just yesterday, they are part of an essential shift to a front-foot focus on prevention.”
“Thank you, Presiding Officer, for the opportunity to update Parliament on the Scottish Government’s progress in advancing the health and social care reform programme, following the vision that I announced to Parliament last year and what was set out in the First Minister’s speech in January. Today marks an important milestone in that journey. I am pleased to announce the publication of “Scotland’s Population Health Framework” and the “Health and Social Care Service Renewal Framework”, which are two vital components in delivering our shared vision for a healthier, fairer and more resilient Scotland. Together, the frameworks represent a significant step forward in shaping a future where people live longer, healthier and more fulfilling lives.”
“I will do everything that I can to make sure that the whole system responds to lessen the pressure on our ambulance service, for exactly the reasons that Jackie Baillie sets out.”
“Neil Gray: On the ambulance turnaround times that we are seeing, the investments that we are making in relation to all the aspects that Jackie Baillie speaks to are having an impact, including a substantial reduction in delayed discharge from the 2,000 figure that she quotes—delayed discharge was at its peak around Christmas time, but it is below that position now. Of course, we must support our general practitioners and we must support our wider system. That is the very point that I was making when I said that we need to support our ambulance service to respond. The performance of our ambulance service is robust in terms of the response times of ambulance service colleagues. The median purple incident response time is at 6 minutes 45 seconds, and we are seeing an improvement in that picture.”
“I agree with the member that any undue delay to people being able to access services is unacceptable. That is why we are making a concerted effort to reduce the pressures that we are seeing across the system. Jackie Baillie: The cabinet secretary should tell that to the almost 2,000 people who are stuck in a hospital due to delayed discharge. Not only are ambulances unable to attend calls, doctors cannot get jobs, despite record-high waiting lists for treatment, and the Royal College of Psychiatrists is reporting a £240 million shortfall in the face of a mental health emergency. The Scottish National Party has been in power for 18 years now. It has presided over this crisis. If it had an idea of how to fix it, surely we would have seen it by now.”
“The incredible work that our Scottish Ambulance Service staff do is well recognised by me, and my gratitude goes to them. They go to remarkable, incredible lengths in serving the people whom we also seek to serve. On Ms Baillie’s point about accident and emergency bursting at the seams, I say that what we are seeing is the pressure in the whole system contributing to pressures in particular parts of it, of which the Scottish Ambulance Service is one. That is why the operational improvement plan is focused not just on one area but on social care, general practice and primary care, on addressing delayed discharge and on providing additional capacity through frailty services adjacent to accident and emergency, as well as on providing additional capacity to reduce delayed discharge, where progress is happening.”
“Jackie Baillie: The cabinet secretary will agree that, although our paramedics do a wonderful job, they simply cannot cope with the scale of the challenge. This is the fifth recovery plan that has been published in the past four years, and none of them has worked so far. For example, in Aberdeen, an ambulance waited for more than 15 hours outside a hospital. In Ayrshire and Arran, one waited for 15 hours. In Glasgow, an ambulance waited for nearly 10 hours outside the Queen Elizabeth hospital. All of that is happening because our accident and emergency departments are bursting at the seams. Does the cabinet secretary agree that that is simply not acceptable? Will he set a maximum time by which ambulance patients must be admitted to hospital rather than queuing outside? Neil Gray: I agree with Jackie Baillie on a number of those points.”