Sandesh Gulhane
Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party · Scotland
“It has been a privilege to be here in the Scottish Parliament for the past five years. I came into politics to stand up for patients and our hard- working national health service staff, who do extraordinary work in the face of immense pressure, and I am proud to declare that I am a practising NHS general practitioner.”
“Neil Gray: I do not think that we can—and nor should we—seek to draw a correlation between NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde officials and the SNP. I do not know the politics of the leadership of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, and we should be careful to draw a distinction in that regard.”
“On Skye House, the Minister for Social Care and Mental Wellbeing gave a statement to Parliament just days ago setting out the Government’s actions and how we are seeking to respond, working with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, to ensure that improvements are made.”
“I say that as someone who shares some of those internal tensions—as a practising Hindu, I wrestle with the philosophical, ethical and spiritual aspects of my faith when I consider legislation such as this. These are not abstract ideas to me; they are part of my own moral framework. However, this Parliament is not a theocracy.”
“Jenni Minto: I am grateful to Dr Gulhane for his comments. The healthcare exception exists to ensure that the bill will not regulate procedures that are provided by regulated healthcare professionals for a healthcare purpose— specifically, for the purpose of preventing, diagnosing or treating illness.”
“I want to be clear that many practitioners who work in the sector take their responsibilities extremely seriously. They operate from clean, sterile environments, follow proper consent procedures and understand how to recognise complications. I have every sympathy with those practitioners.”
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“Perhaps the cabinet secretary can disprove that charge and tell me when the walk-in centres will be delivered, where they will be placed, how they will be staffed and how much each will cost, because that work must have been done. Neil Gray: Work is being done, and I will be more than happy to disprove Sandesh Gulhane’s cynicism when further details can be published. Sandesh Gulhane raised the LMC’s concerns about continuity of care. I am confident that the LMC will be more reassured of late, given that the Government has committed to the single biggest investment in core GP services—£531 million over the next three years. There will be increases in GP recruitment and faster adoption of innovation, and I am confident that that will be welcomed by GPs across the country.”
“I declare an interest as a practising NHS GP. The Glasgow Local Medical Committee has raised concerns about the First Minister’s recent announcement to establish GP walk-in centres, not least of which is the risk that they pose to continuity of care. Like the LMC, I am deeply concerned about the lack of clarity that is provided around the proposal, including in the answer to Kenneth Gibson. Surely a lot of planning had already gone into the policy before the announcement, yet when I wrote to the First Minister, I received no information on when the walk-in centres will be delivered, where they will be placed, how they will be staffed and how much they will cost. That strengthens the view that the policy is nothing more than an election stunt.”
“I have already set out, in response to Jackie Baillie, the work that we have commissioned the Ambulance Service to do to review the management of traumatic fractures, to ensure that such incidents—or, indeed, dislocations, which we have heard about—are able to be responded to properly and timeously. We have invested significantly in Ambulance Service staffing and that has led to a record increase in staffing, including for newly qualified paramedics. I am obviously aware of the situation for some, and I am working with the Ambulance Service to ensure that, where a newly qualified paramedic’s number 1 geographical area is not available, we can at least support people to understand where the vacancies are and can match them up to those newly qualified paramedics.”
“When will the Government put a proper focus on workforce planning and prioritise getting resources to the front line and away from bureaucracy? Neil Gray: We have already done that. As I did in response to Jackie Baillie’s question, I apologise to Charlie Fox for the situation that he faced. I recognise the pain and trauma that he will have suffered while he was waiting. I am expecting the Scottish Ambulance Service to carry out a full investigation into what happened in that incident. When the time is right for Mr Fox, I would encourage him to engage with the Ambulance Service to ensure that the investigation can be done in the most informed way possible.”
“I declare an interest as a practising NHS general practitioner and a previous head of medicine for Queen’s Park. Queen’s Park defender Charlie Fox suffered a serious knee injury during a championship game that could have resulted in an unnecessary amputation. He was forced to wait for 10 hours, which is the equivalent of almost seven football matches. In some areas, patients are waiting even longer than that. We know that, in the past year, one code red patient in the Highlands waited for more than 18 hours for an ambulance, while another in Lothian waited for almost 17 hours. The median wait is of cold comfort to those patients. Our paramedics do a brilliant job, but they are left to do it with one hand tied behind their back. There are also home-grown student paramedics who are not getting jobs in Scotland.”
“By funding and implementing the genomic testing programme that is already approved, we can give clinicians the tools to act earlier, treat smarter and give patients and their families something invaluable: hope. 17:25”
“Implementing that testing would allow more patients with cholangiocarcinoma to benefit from life-extending, targeted therapies. It would also strengthen our cancer intelligence, ensuring that we understand who might benefit most from emerging treatments that are very expensive. The UK’s only charity dedicated solely to cholangiocarcinoma, AMMF, has led the way in supporting research, raising awareness and providing patient support. Its advocacy reminds us that, although cholangiocarcinoma is rare, its impact is profound and patients deserve access to modern, evidence-based care. Scotland has a proud record in medical innovation. We were among the first to embrace precision oncology for other cancers. We must do the same here.”
“For example, changes in genes called IDH1 and FGFR2 are found in one in seven people with this type of bile duct cancer. The good news is that there is now a drug labelled Pemazyre that is designed to target those specific changes. It is the first treatment made specifically for this cancer, and it is already approved for patients in England and Wales. For those who are eligible, it offers real hope and the chance of a longer and better- quality life than chemotherapy alone can provide. However, in Scotland, access to such treatment depends on the implementation of a comprehensive genomic testing programme. The programme was approved by NHS Scotland in 2023, but it is yet to be fully funded and embedded into clinical practice.”
“It most often affects people over 60, but, unfortunately, we are seeing it appear in younger patients, too. As a GP, I know full well that early diagnosis saves lives, but early diagnosis requires the right tools and systems, which is why the debate matters so much. The old saying goes that prevention is better than cure, but, for cancers such as cholangiocarcinoma, where prevention is difficult, precision medicine gives us our best chance to improve outcomes. No two tumours are the same; each one carries its own genetic fingerprint, influencing how it grows and how it responds to treatment. Through molecular profiling—basically, analysing the tumour’s DNA—doctors can identify specific mutations and target them with precision therapies. That is not science fiction; it is already changing lives.”
“I declare an interest as a practising NHS general practitioner. I congratulate Marie McNair on securing this members’ business debate and raising vital awareness of cholangiocarcinoma, or bile duct cancer. For GPs, cholangiocarcinoma is one of the most challenging diseases to detect. The symptoms are subtle and, often, non-specific: a bit of nausea, fatigue, loss of appetite or some discomfort under the rib—signs that could be almost anything. Sadly, by the time the symptoms add up to something more concerning, it is often too late for curative treatment. The motion for the debate recognises liver cancer awareness month and draws attention to the shocking fact that cholangiocarcinoma has one of the poorest survival rates of any cancer.”
“I have made that plain in the time that I have been in office and in the discussions that I had with the chief executive of NHS Lothian. I have made plain to all board chief executives and chairs that I expect there to be a speak-up culture in the NHS. The “Disclosure” programme serves as a reminder of why such a culture is so important. In my statement, I have set out the position on neonatal services, which has been underscored by midwives at NHS Tayside and, indeed, by Bliss, which says that it is the right model for us to follow. On accountability, I cannot go into detail about human resources or employment matters, as Dr Gulhane will understand, but changes have been made and leadership has been strengthened at”
“Neil Gray: First and foremost, as I said in my statement, my thoughts are with all the families who have been impacted and with the staff who have come forward. I made that clear in my statement, so I share the sentiments that Sandesh Gulhane sets out. In my statement, I addressed the steps that NHS Lothian has taken to recruit more staff. The staffing complement for midwifery and nursing in Scotland has gone up under this Government, but I am not complacent about that, which is why it is important that we keep the matter under review and why the safe staffing legislation is so important to ensure the continued safety of our services. I will not under any circumstances tolerate a culture of fear for staff who seek to raise concerns or report poor standards of behaviour.”
“Staff and mothers have been raising the alarm for years, but those warnings were silenced, which has shamefully put mothers and babies in harm’s way. Let us be clear: two out of four hospitals in the Highlands have not been inspected for almost a decade. We cannot rely on the BBC to show our problems. The buck stops with the cabinet secretary. After nearly two decades of Scottish National Party mismanagement, our health service is in permanent crisis mode. Until the SNP fixes the dire workforce planning, nothing will change. Surely, with the new task force, the cabinet secretary will halt the downgrading of maternity services under the best start model. Given the severity of the report, why have NHS board members not been held accountable? What is the timeline to implement the 26 recommendations in full?”
“As I am a father of two young children and a practising NHS general practitioner who works closely with NHS staff and patients, this issue is particularly close to my heart. I welcome Neil Gray’s urgent statement today. Like all members in the chamber, I am sickened, appalled and, to be frank, terrified to read the findings of the report. My thoughts are with new mothers and families who have experienced such trauma at first hand and with the staff who have suffered. This traumatic report highlighted a number of serious issues in our health service, including dangerously low staffing levels, a culture of fear, cover-ups, a failure to listen to families and a refusal to learn from mistakes that have been made—with pure luck seeming to get staff through sometimes.”
“To ask the Scottish Government whether, as part of setting its forthcoming budget, it will commit to allocating 10 per cent of the total NHS budget to primary care, in light of reported concerns regarding a 6 per cent real-terms reduction in spending on primary care since 2021-22 and underinvestment being a key driver of general practitioner practice closures, recruitment challenges and increased pressure on hospitals. (S6O-05071)”
“That work reminds us that progress is about not only survival stats, but dignity, reassurance and hope. The priorities, then, are clear. We need stronger public awareness of symptoms, sustained investment in staff and resources across primary and secondary care, commitment to research and innovation, and deeper partnership with charities and communities. By bringing all those elements together, we can change the story of not only bladder cancer but all cancers in Scotland: we can improve survival, reduce variation in care and ensure that every patient has the best possible chance. That is not about adding to clinical workload, but about building capacity, sharing knowledge and empowering patients. With focus and collaboration, Scotland can move from lagging behind to leading the way in bladder cancer care. 17:58”
“Such innovation, whether at Dundee or Edinburgh university, or through partnership across the rest of the UK, is already changing what is possible. Artificial intelligence is another emerging tool. AI systems are showing promise in reading scans and analysing pathology results. With appropriate safeguard, those tools could help clinicians identify high-risk patients more quickly, and prevent any delays. Scotland is well placed to take and play a leading role in integrating AI responsibly into clinical practice. Alongside clinical advances, we must also recognise the vital role that charities and patient organisations play. For example, Fight Bladder Cancer supports patients and families, raises awareness, and ensures that the patient voice is heard in policy and research.”
“At the University of Dundee, researchers have developed a light-based test that detects certain chemicals in the urine. In trials, that test was accurate more than eight times out of 10, and it requires only a urine sample. At the University of Edinburgh, researchers are exploring ways to personalise bladder cancer treatment by studying biological markers and advancing imaging features, and they are working to match therapies more closely to each patient’s individual tumour. Elsewhere, a study funded by Cancer Research UK, with the University of Birmingham and industry partners, has shown that a new urine-based test can detect tumour DNA in 87 per cent of cases. That technology could reduce the need for repeated invasive camera examinations, which are often uncomfortable.”
“If you have persistent urinary symptoms or, basically, if anything changes as you go to the toilet, you want to seek some help. If people recognise those warning signs, getting early help can absolutely help against cancer. The one thing that I would love to say—and I think that all of us across the chamber would agree with this—is: if things change in your body, or you find that that change does not go away, come and speak to a GP. We are a friendly bunch, and we will be happy to hear what is going on. But awareness on its own cannot close the gap. Diagnosis and treatment depend on having the right staff, equipment and capacity in place. Across Scotland, GPs, nurses, urological surgeons, oncologists, radiologists and many others provide extraordinary care under great pressure. There is some good reason for optimism.”
“I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests, as I am a practising NHS GP. I thank Stuart McMillan for bringing this underknown cancer to debate. Bladder cancer is the 11th most common cancer in the UK, with around 60 people diagnosed every day according to Action Bladder Cancer UK, and yet outcomes remain uneven. In Scotland, five-year survival continues to fall short compared with the rest of the UK, and with much of Europe. That is not because our clinicians lack dedication or expertise, but because too many cases are diagnosed too late, and because services across the country are stretched. So, what can we do? The first and most important step is to raise awareness. We have heard already that blood in the urine—even once—must never be ignored.”
“Scots deserve homes, jobs and services before SNP vanity projects and virtue signalling. The SNP’s open-door, pass-the-bill-to-Westminster policy has failed. Our motion puts Scots first and demands fairness and realism. Scotland cannot afford the SNP’s excuses any longer. The Deputy Presiding Officer: That concludes the debate on the impact of accommodating asylum seekers on Scottish local government. To allow front benches to change, there will be a brief pause before we move to the next item of business. Bus Services (No 2) Bill”
“It is an issue that directly affects my Glasgow constituents’ access to public services, not international affairs. Jamie Greene is right: it is not the fault of the individual asylum seeker. It is the fault of this SNP Government trying to claim the moral high ground, but it does not know how to pay for its promises, and it is letting our public services crumble. Scots are compassionate people, but compassion without capacity is chaos, and chaos is exactly what this SNP has delivered: a housing emergency, spiralling NHS waiting lists, overcrowded schools and financially broken councils. Scottish families are waiting longer, paying more and getting less under this SNP’s undeniable legacy. Controlled, fair and balanced immigration must be the principle, as Ben Macpherson articulated.”
“Through a lack of planning by this SNP Government, people cannot be seen by their GPs, and all public services are creaking and in danger of failing. Kaukab Stewart: Mr Gulhane mentioned council leader Susan Aitken. Her direct quote was actually: “It is not asylum seekers and refugees that are the cause of this problem. It is around policy and the lack of funding that flows to local government.” She went on to say that those are the direct consequences of decisions “implemented elsewhere, specifically in Westminster.” Sandesh Gulhane: And who funds local authorities? It is Kaukab Stewart and her Government. Shirley-Anne Somerville had no idea how she would shape asylum or indeed pay for it. Mark Griffin condemns us for speaking about an issue that his constituents in Central Scotland are speaking about.”
“The SNP is absolutely responsible for where we are today. I will say, with my colleagues, that the Conservative Government was wrong in the way we handled migration. We have many things to learn, and we will show contrition for that. Craig Hoy told us that Susan Aitken, the SNP leader of Glasgow City Council, has admitted that there was a £66 million budget shortfall of the SNP’s making. The SNP wants to virtue signal on someone else’s dime. Meghan Gallacher told us that 1,500 asylum seekers are being housed in hotels, which is almost a quarter of all those in the system. In fact, Glasgow is the asylum capital of the UK, with 65 per 10,000, and is attracting homeless refugees from other UK cities such as Belfast, Birmingham and London, but what does that mean in practice? What does that mean to the average person?”
“We owe much to those who came to this country and called the United Kingdom home, just like my parents did. I am the son of immigrants who arrived, got a job, paid their taxes and integrated into British society. They never claimed a penny but worked hard every single day of their lives. Ben Macpherson: I am a bit past the point in the speech, but I am keen to hear Mr Gulhane, who I appreciate is a significant contributor as a professional. Colleagues on his benches— particularly Mr Hoy—showed some humility about his party’s mistakes and the damage that it has done to our country through the austerity agenda, which the Scottish Government has faced the consequences of. I wonder whether Mr Gulhane is going to refer to that. Sandesh Gulhane: Ben Macpherson has forgotten that 18 years of SNP rule has led us to this point.”
“Kevin Stewart: Will the member take an intervention? Sandesh Gulhane: Absolutely not. The SNP points the finger at Westminster, while five senior officials at SNP-run Glasgow City Council walked away with more than £1 million between them—signed off by themselves—with front-line services being slashed. Furthermore, the Scottish Government has no plan to recover £36 million of benefits overpayments and fraud. That is not generosity; it is greed and misrule. The SNP has built a narrative, not a solution, and our communities are paying the price. Scotland and Scots are generous, but generosity must be matched with realism, and it is time that the SNP learned that lesson. Douglas Lumsden reminded us that legal migration is good. Our country is great, and it is the way that it is today because of legal, controlled migration.”
“The people of Scotland deserve honesty, and the truth is that the Scottish National Party has failed them. For years, the SNP has pushed an open-door immigration policy, so long as someone else is paying for it. It boasts of compassion, but it has washed its hands of responsibility. Where will asylum seekers live? Where will their children go to school? How will they see a general practitioner? Those are not abstract questions; they are real pressures on communities that are already stretched to breaking point. However, the SNP blunders on while it ducks the consequences of its own mismanagement. That is not just incompetence; it is hypocrisy. The SNP can find money to send abroad, yet it cannot build homes here. It finds funds for foreign aid projects, but it cannot house Glasgow’s homeless.”
“Motion moved, That the Parliament agrees that the Social Security (Residence and Presence Requirements) (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2025 [draft] be considered by the Parliament—[Jamie Hepburn]. Motion agreed to. Decision Time 17:17”
“Motion agreed to, That the Parliament agrees— (a) to the following revisions to the programme of business for Wednesday 10 September 2025— after followed by Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Debate: Impact of Accommodating Asylum Seekers on Scottish Local Government insert followed by Motion on Legislative Consent: Bus Services (No. 2) Bill - UK Legislation delete 5.10 pm Decision Time and insert 5.40 pm Decision Time (b) that, for the purposes of consideration of the legislative consent memorandum on the Bus Services (No. 2) Bill, Rules 9B.3.5 and 9B.3.6 of Standing Orders are suspended. The Presiding Officer: The next item of business is consideration of business motion S6M- 18787, in the name of Jamie Hepburn, on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau, on consideration of a Scottish statutory instrument.”
“On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I would have voted to abstain. The Presiding Officer: Thank you, Dr Gulhane. We will ensure that that is recorded. For Adam, George (Paisley) (SNP) Adam, Karen (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (SNP) Allan, Alasdair (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (SNP) Arthur, Tom (Renfrewshire South) (SNP) Baillie, Jackie (Dumbarton) (Lab) Baker, Claire (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Balfour, Jeremy (Lothian) (Ind) Beattie, Colin (Midlothian North and Musselburgh) (SNP) Bibby, Neil (West Scotland) (Lab) Boyack, Sarah (Lothian) (Lab) Brown, Keith (Clackmannanshire and Dunblane) (SNP) Brown, Siobhian (Ayr) (SNP) Burgess, Ariane (Highlands and Islands) (Green) Callaghan, Stephanie (Uddingston and Bellshill) (SNP) Chapman, Maggie (North East Scotland) (Green) Choudhury, Foysol (Lothian) (Lab) Clark, Katy (West Scotland) (Lab) Coffey, Willie (Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley) (SNP) Cole-Hamilton, Alex (Edinburgh Western) (LD) Constance, Angela (Almond Valley) (SNP) Dey, Graeme (Angus South) (SNP) Don-Innes, Natalie (Renfrewshire North and West) (SNP) Doris, Bob (Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn) (SNP) Dornan, James (Glasgow Cathcart) (SNP) Dunbar, Jackie (Aberdeen Donside) (SNP) Duncan-Glancy, Pam (Glasgow) (Lab) Ewing, Annabelle (Cowdenbeath) (SNP) Ewing, Fergus (Inverness and Nairn) (Ind) Fairlie, Jim (Perthshire South and Kinross-shire) (SNP) Forbes, Kate (Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch) (SNP) Gibson, Kenneth (Cunninghame North) (SNP) Gilruth, Jenny (Mid Fife and Glenrothes) (SNP) Gougeon, Mairi (Angus North and Mearns) (SNP) Grahame, Christine (Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale) (SNP) Gray, Neil (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP) Greene, Jamie (West Scotland) (LD) Greer, Ross (West Scotland) (Green) Griffin, Mark (Central Scotland) (Lab) Harper, Emma (South Scotland) (SNP) Harvie, Patrick (Glasgow) (Green) Haughey, Clare (Rutherglen) (SNP) Hepburn, Jamie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (SNP) Hyslop, Fiona (Linlithgow) (SNP) Kidd, Bill (Glasgow Anniesland) (SNP) Leonard, Richard (Central Scotland) (Lab) Lochhead, Richard (Moray) (SNP) MacDonald, Gordon (Edinburgh Pentlands) (SNP) MacGregor, Fulton (Coatbridge and Chryston) (SNP) Mackay, Gillian (Central Scotland) (Green) [Proxy vote cast by Ross Greer] Mackay, Rona (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (SNP) Macpherson, Ben (Edinburgh Northern and Leith) (SNP) Maguire, Ruth (Cunninghame South) (SNP) Marra, Michael (North East Scotland) (Lab) Martin, Gillian (Aberdeenshire East) (SNP) Mason, John (Glasgow Shettleston) (Ind) Matheson, Michael (Falkirk West) (SNP) McAllan, Màiri (Clydesdale) (SNP) McArthur, Liam (Orkney Islands) (LD) McKee, Ivan (Glasgow Provan) (SNP) McLennan, Paul (East Lothian) (SNP) McMillan, Stuart (Greenock and Inverclyde) (SNP) McNair, Marie (Clydebank and Milngavie) (SNP) McNeill, Pauline (Glasgow) (Lab) Minto, Jenni (Argyll and Bute) (SNP) Mochan, Carol (South Scotland) (Lab) Nicoll, Audrey (Aberdeen South and North Kincardine) (SNP) O’Kane, Paul (West Scotland) (Lab) [Proxy vote cast by Michael Marra] Rennie, Willie (North East Fife) (LD) Robertson, Angus (Edinburgh Central) (SNP) Robison, Shona (Dundee City East) (SNP) Roddick, Emma (Highlands and Islands) (SNP) Rowley, Alex (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Ruskell, Mark (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green) Russell, Davy (Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse) (Lab) Simpson, Graham (Central Scotland) (Reform) Slater, Lorna (Lothian) (Green) Somerville, Shirley-Anne (Dunfermline) (SNP) Stewart, Kaukab (Glasgow Kelvin) (SNP) Stewart, Kevin (Aberdeen Central) (SNP) Sweeney, Paul (Glasgow) (Lab) Thomson, Michelle (Falkirk East) (SNP) Todd, Maree (Caithness, Sutherland and Ross) (SNP) Torrance, David (Kirkcaldy) (SNP) Tweed, Evelyn (Stirling) (SNP) Villalba, Mercedes (North East Scotland) (Lab) Whitfield, Martin (South Scotland) (Lab) Whitham, Elena (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (SNP) Abstentions Briggs, Miles (Lothian) (Con) Burnett, Alexander (Aberdeenshire West) (Con) Carlaw, Jackson (Eastwood) (Con) Carson, Finlay (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con) Dowey, Sharon (South Scotland) (Con) Eagle, Tim (Highlands and Islands) (Con) Fraser, Murdo (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Gallacher, Meghan (Central Scotland) (Con) Gosal, Pam (West Scotland) (Con) Gulhane, Sandesh (Glasgow) (Con) Hamilton, Rachael (Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con) Hoy, Craig (South Scotland) (Con) Halcro Johnston, Jamie (Highlands and Islands) (Con) Kerr, Liam (North East Scotland) (Con) Kerr, Stephen (Central Scotland) (Con) Lumsden, Douglas (North East Scotland) (Con) McCall, Roz (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Mountain, Edward (Highlands and Islands) (Con) Mundell, Oliver (Dumfriesshire) (Con) Ross, Douglas (Highlands and Islands) (Con) Smith, Liz (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Stewart, Alexander (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Webber, Sue (Lothian) (Con) White, Tess (North East Scotland) (Con) Whittle, Brian (South Scotland) (Con) The Presiding Officer: The result of the division on motion S6M-18786, in the name of Jamie Hepburn, on changes to the business programme, is: For 87, Against 0, Abstentions 25.”
“Nowhere is that more obvious than in the Government’s gold-standard incompetence in failing to deliver a rail link between Glasgow airport and Glasgow city centre. That is not a minor omission. Glasgow airport is arguably Scotland’s principal business airport, and, in my opinion, it is its most important one. It is the gateway for conferences at the SEC, for tourism across the west of Scotland and for international investment. However, unlike airports in Manchester, London and even Vilnius, in Lithuania, there is no direct rail connection. Instead, travellers step off their flights into traffic jams and bus queues. That is not the image of a modern and forward-thinking Scotland; rather, it is symbolic of the shambles that the SNP has created with its economic incompetence.”
“The motion that is before us is classic SNP—a self- congratulatory tale of trumpets and selective successes that ignores glaring failures. If Thomas the Tank Engine ran Scotland’s railways, we would have really useful engines. Under the SNP, it could be argued that we have had really useless policies. Yes, there have been new stations, some electrification and anniversaries to celebrate, but behind the rhetoric lies a Government that has let Scotland’s transport infrastructure—and, with it, our economy—fall behind. The SNP is a master of patting itself on the back, but, when it comes to real delivery, particularly in Glasgow, it is utterly failing. Like Gordon, the big engine, the SNP loves to boast that it is the fastest, but, when we look at the timetable, we see that it is always running late.”
“To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in response to reports that the synthetic drug, spice, has been found in vapes that are being sold to schoolchildren. (S6T-02658)”
“Neil Gray: Sandesh Gulhane will know that Public Health Scotland is clear that, in order to arrive at a one in six figure, list numbers would have to be combined—which it recommends should not be done. He will therefore want to check that figure. On GP numbers, welcome figures have just shown, for the first time since 2019, a 4 per cent rise in the number of whole-time equivalent GPs. I am now engaged with the Royal College of General Practitioners and the British Medical Association on the long-term funding position, including how there can be greater recruitment of general practitioners, to match the incredible investment that is going into training them. A record number of 1,200 GPs are currently in training.”
“I declare an interest as a practising NHS general practitioner, in which role I worked over the summer. After nearly two decades of SNP mismanagement, one in six Scots is now trapped on an NHS waiting list; GP vacancy rates remain high; there are continued nursing shortages; despite promises, waiting times are spiralling, with nearly a quarter of patients waiting over a year; and a shortfall of £290 million prevents practices from hiring additional staff. Patients’ physical and mental wellbeing is being harmed. Is it not time that the Government made significant commonsense bureaucratic cuts, reducing the redundant middle management of the NHS and diverting those resources to the front line?”
“I have indicated to the Parliament that the long waits are unacceptable. That is why the focus of our intervention is on addressing those long waits and ensuring that people do not wait as long as the person has done in the case that Dr Gulhane has put to me. The Government is absolutely focused on reducing those long waits, and I want to see more progress being made. The issue is the subject of regular dialogue between me, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care and the leadership of the national health service. All health boards are seized of the importance of the issue, which I reiterate today. The Presiding Officer: There is a particularly high level of interest in supplementary questions across the chamber. I would be grateful for concise questions and responses. Alexander Dennis (Job Losses)”
“I declare an interest as a practising NHS general practitioner. I was contacted by John, who had already waited 40 weeks for orthopaedic surgery. He had had no updates from the health board. He looked himself and found that his wait had increased—it had been 52 weeks in September and is now 67 weeks. The uncertainty is a major source of frustration and pain. After the First Minister has just read out what is not happening, and at a time when we can track our online shopping orders to the minute, why is there no transparency about waiting times for hospital appointments? The First Minister: The information about the length of waits is available. Mr Choudhury put a question to me about the visibility of that information and Dr Gulhane has just done likewise. That information is available.”
“I move amendment S6M-17869.1, to insert after “vacancies,”: “acknowledges that Scotland is experiencing a paradox of underemployed GPs who remain unable to find sufficient work despite widespread demand, as well as unemployed paramedics graduating from universities and paediatric nurses unable to secure roles; highlights that the Scottish National Party administration promised to increase GP numbers by 800 by 2027, but that this target is unlikely to be met as GP numbers are declining and junior doctors are struggling to find jobs; acknowledges that the Royal College of Nursing has claimed that current nursing staffing levels are inadequate, noting that, while the number of nurses employed by NHS Scotland has increased, levels of staff absence and agency use remain unsustainably high; references the report, The Nursing Workforce in Scotland 2025, which shows demand outstripping supply, and calls for better data to enable sustainable workforce planning; recognises that the Royal College of General Practitioners has criticised the Scottish Government’s plan to provide 100,000 extra GP appointments, as Scotland’s NHS currently does not have the workforce capacity to deliver this plan;”.”
“The BMA and the Royal College of General Practitioners have warned that general practice is in danger of collapse. However, under the slick management of the SNP, we find ourselves in the absurd position in which doctors are underemployed yet demand is soaring. It is time for change and leadership rather than slogans and excuses. Our NHS staff and patients deserve better.”
“Clearly, patients with suspected heart disease are having to wait for that test. There is a lack of trained cardiac physiologists. The only degree programme in Scotland for that specialty is ending and no replacement is in place for 2025. That profession, which is crucial to saving lives, is being allowed to wither from neglect. That is the SNP in a nutshell. I turn to GPs. What I witness there is not isolated strain but the visible symptom of a deeper workforce crisis that the SNP has long ignored. Poor planning, a lack of vision and political complacency have left our NHS hollowed out even as demand continues to soar. There is what has been announced and then there is reality. The SNP promised 800 more GPs by 2027 but, lo and behold, GP numbers instead fell from 4,514 in 2022 to 4,438 last year.”
“In some parts of Scotland, the gaps are even more severe, which will deepen regional inequality. That is truly scary. The Scottish Government needs to get a grip and stop trotting out the kind of platitudes that are in the SNP’s amendment. The problem extends beyond cancer care. In cardiology, more than 6,000 patients have been waiting more than a year for an echocardiogram. That is a vital test for heart disease, but not according to the SNP. Shockingly, the Scottish Government does not consider that to be one of its key diagnostic tests. It is omitted from workforce planning, routine reporting and serious political attention. After 18 years in Government, the SNP still has not got its head around the basics. The waiting list for that test is more than double the combined total for the eight key tests that the Government tracks.”
“GPs who are being trained here are forced to leave Scotland to work; the SNP is training doctors for Australia. Newly qualified nurses and paramedics are joining the ranks of the unemployed, all at a time when patients are struggling to get appointments. That is happening right now outside the chamber in the real world. The Royal College of Radiologists has laid bare the scale of the crisis. Scotland faces a 25 per cent shortfall in radiologists and a 19 per cent shortfall in clinical oncologists, which is the highest figure in the UK. By 2029, those shortfalls are projected to grow to 35 per cent and 31 per cent respectively. What does that mean for everyone out there and for our patients? It means that there will be longer wait times for cancer diagnosis, delayed treatments and worsening outcomes.”
“I declare an interest as a practising NHS general practitioner and a former chair of the BMA GP trainees committee. In my experience in my GP surgery, I see not statistics, but real-life stories that tell me that our workforce is stretched to breaking point. Behind every delayed scan or missed appointment is a patient who has been left in pain or desperately worried, and a clinician who has been left exhausted. Let us call that what it is: a workforce crisis that has been created in Bute house and presided over by a revolving door of Scottish National Party health secretaries who have failed to plan, failed to lead and failed Scotland’s patients. As a consequence of those failures, junior doctors are finishing years of training only to find that there are no jobs.”
“Contrary to Jackie Baillie’s assertion, we have funded the creation of hundreds of additional specialty training posts across all specialities, including 47 that were added in 2025. We are ensuring that we train the number of consultants that we need for the future, which is why we have funded the creation of hundreds of additional posts across specialties. I recognise the calls for greater workforce planning to account for what patients and the public want from their health service and, importantly, to ensure that medical careers remain attractive. That is why the Scottish Government is taking forward the work that Jackie Baillie mentioned in her motion—to think 15 and 20 years into the future and gain an understanding of the needs of the future medical workforce.”
“How many newly qualified paediatric nurses have found vacancies that enable them to take up a job? Neil Gray: I am aware that a limited number, on a geographical basis, have found that a struggle, but, as I have just said, a wide range of vacancies are available for newly qualified nurses to go into. I am also aware of similar reports of resident doctors having difficulty in securing specialty training places; that has been part of our discussions with the workforce and with the First Minister and wider partners. As I am sure that Jackie Baillie is aware, specialty training places are recruited for on a United Kingdom-wide basis and then allocated according to where the greatest service needs lie. Entry to specialty training is through a competitive application process that is run on a four-nations basis.”
“The SNP loves to talk about conviction, but, when it comes to commitments, it costs the country a fortune and too often leaves our people stranded. It is time to stop paying premiums for pipe dreams. Scotland deserves better. 18:13”
“The Parliament has been a hall of shame for SNP governance—a flagship bill in ruins, two ferries that are still incomplete, a bungled census and legal stunts that never stood a chance. There has been £1 billion of broken promises and missed targets, with public services left in a worse state than before. Think about what that money could have done for classrooms, GP surgeries or community care. We support the bill and we back Anne’s law, which should have been on the statute book a very long time ago, but let this be the last car crash in SNP policy making—enough with headlines, enough with hubris and enough with the costs. Scotland does not need another slick soundbite. It needs serious leadership with a plan, a purpose and a price tag that does not leave the public short-changed.”
“The SNP now presents the Care Reform (Scotland) Bill—a more modest and workable approach that includes Anne’s law, which guarantees care home residents the right to see loved ones. We support the bill due to Anne’s law. In fact, we would have supported it years ago without the eye-watering price tag of the national care service experiment. SNP ministers love bold commitments. They rail against Westminster one day but send their constituents the invoice the next. Their convictions are as reliable as the CalMac ferry timetable. Their principles are stirring in speeches but missing in action. At least the new bill is stripped back and serious about protecting the rights of residents and empowering carers. There is no grandstanding or runaway spending, just practical reform—finally. However, let us not forget how we got here.”
“The care service is not the only SNP debacle in the Parliament. When responding to Brian Whittle, the minister said that we can ask the Scottish Government questions about spending any time. Okay—£200 million has been spent on ferries that are still not finished; £180 million was spent on a deposit return scheme that was scrapped before it was launched; more than £600,000 was spent on failed Supreme Court adventures, from defining a woman to indyref2; and £140 million was spent on a Scotland-only census that flopped. Get out that abacus. Approaching £1 billion of public money has been torched in this parliamentary session alone on vanity projects that never delivered, all paid for by the Scottish taxpayer—and for what? There are big promises and bigger budgets, but zilch delivery.”
“I declare an interest as a practising NHS general practitioner. The Scottish Conservatives will support the Care Reform (Scotland) Bill, which we are here to debate, but let us not pretend that we have arrived at this moment by design. We are here because of yet another Scottish National Party policy that promised the world and delivered a fiasco. The now defunct National Care Service (Scotland) Bill was once hailed as the most significant reform to health and social care since the creation of the NHS. In reality, it was a half-baked plan that was dreamt up by ministers in an ivory tower and clearly dead in the water before the ink had dried on the first draft. What has been the price? Nearly £30 million has been spent on a policy that nobody wanted— not the unions, not COSLA and not care professionals.”