Jackie Baillie
Scottish Labour · Scotland
“Is it not the case that the SNP was economical with the truth in its manifesto when it promised all those things, knowing that there was no budget to deliver any of them? Angela Constance: This Government will deliver a new hospital for the Monklands. This is not about ditching; it is about delivering.”
“I congratulate Marie McNair on bringing the motion to the chamber for debate and on her consistent championing of the cause. Asbestos was finally completely banned in 1999, the same year that the Parliament was established.”
“Today, Cape is owned by the construction engineering company Altrad, which operates around the world, and its UK arm alone made a pre-tax profit of £37.3 million in the year to August 2025.”
“Although shipbuilders and tradesmen might be the most affected, their wives and children might also have been exposed to asbestos dust, and, of course, all families are impacted by a loved one’s diagnosis.”
“I thank the cabinet secretary for the advance copy of her statement. First, there is no doubt in my mind that the people of Lanarkshire and the hard-working NHS staff at Monklands hospital will be bitterly disappointed by the cabinet secretary’s announcement. It does not sound like a reset; it sounds like an indefinite halt.”
“In 2024, the Scottish Law Commission recommended, helpfully, that the time bar be removed, but that was not legislated for in the previous parliamentary session. I hope that the Scottish Government will make such legislation an urgent priority in this parliamentary session.”
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Every one of 503 lines we hold for Jackie Baillie, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 10 of 11.
“As Daniel Johnson indicated, some people are waiting for as long as 14 years. If the Scottish National Party Government does not take decisive action, children could spend their entire school years without the support that they need. Children cannot wait, and parents cannot wait. Although those figures might seem overwhelming, there is straightforward support that can make a huge difference to somebody with a neurodevelopmental condition. To access that support, they first need a diagnosis, and there is no dedicated pathway for such cases. Instead, services that are intended for patients with complex mental health conditions, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, are absorbing the referrals. That benefits no one.”
“I commend my colleague Daniel Johnson for securing this members’ business debate, and I thank him and Karen Adam for their openness in talking about their neurodivergent conditions. It is estimated that more than one in 10 Scots live with a neurodevelopmental condition. Conditions such as ADHD and autism affect many aspects of people’s lives, from their ability to study and progress in their careers to the relationships that they need in order to thrive. Awareness of those conditions has grown, with referrals for ADHD assessment alone increasing by as much as 800 per cent across Scottish health boards between 2019 and 2021, according to a recent Royal College of Psychiatrists report. Without systematic change, waiting times are predicted to exceed 10 years within the next couple of years.”
“The reality is that, too often, women are stuck not even in mixed-sex wards but in corridors. Most members in the chamber will be aware of the recent report from the Royal College of Nursing, in which one Scottish nurse described having to use privacy screens around patients so that they could use the bedpan. As the director of the Royal College of Nursing Scotland said, “This is completely unacceptable for patient safety and staff wellbeing.” I could not agree more with those comments. All that remains for me to ask is this: will the SNP Government live up to its long-standing pledge to end mixed-sex wards, or will we be here in a year’s time discussing yet another report of increased numbers of women experiencing assaults in NHS Scotland? 17:57”
“I wonder whether the minister can tell me now, or in summing up, whether that situation has improved at all. If the SNP Government had kept its promise, we might not have the level of abuse that goes on in our hospitals today. How disappointing it is that women are let down and that, even when the Government commits to a clear principle, it simply fails to deliver in practice. So, will the Government commit to urgently working with health boards and Police Scotland to investigate the circumstances of those assaults, including whether they happened on mixed-sex wards? Will it ensure that there is, in the NHS, more accurate recording and reporting of sexual crimes in the future? What action will be taken to prevent such assaults from happening in the first place? The report demonstrates that our hospitals are not as safe as they should be.”
“Shockingly, as we have already heard, Police Scotland could give details of only 29 per cent of cases, so the real number of sexual assaults will be far higher, as many will go unreported. The opportunity to commit sexual assaults will, I believe, be increased because we still have mixed-sex wards. For 20 years now, first Scottish Labour and then SNP Administrations have required health boards to eliminate mixed-sex accommodation in our hospitals, yet in 2024, only two health board areas—Dumfries and Galloway and Orkney— confirmed that they offered single-sex accommodation across all their wards. The remaining 12 health boards that replied offered mixed-sex accommodation in at least some of their wards—a far cry from the pledge by the SNP.”
“I thank Tess White for bringing the debate to the chamber. I had the opportunity to attend the event that she sponsored in Parliament a few weeks ago, at which the Women’s Rights Network presented its findings to MSPs and guests. I have to say that those findings were profoundly shocking. It is beyond question that our hospitals should be places where patients and staff alike know that they will be kept safe and treated with dignity. As Tess White said, the report tells us that, of the 288 sexual assaults and rapes that were recorded in Scottish hospitals in the past five years, more than half occurred on a hospital ward. The surroundings where those assaults took place included a children’s hospital, two maternity hospitals and a palliative care hospital.”
“To ask the Scottish Government for what reason hospitals are reportedly still using MRI scanners, CT scanners and X-ray machines that are decades old, in light of reported warnings by experts that equipment over 10 years old should be replaced. (S6T-02426)”
“That service is about ensuring that, at every stage of the commissioning of a health infrastructure programme, we have assurance on the safety and practicality of health projects. I believe that that is giving us much greater assurance of the safety that Jackie Baillie is looking for.”
“Neil Gray: I appreciate Jackie Baillie’s comments on the issues around the hospitals in Edinburgh and Jeane Freeman’s decision. I agree with her that Jeane Freeman took the right decision, which is borne out in the interim report’s findings. I caution Jackie Baillie about arriving at conclusions on the Glasgow side of the inquiry. That inquiry is on-going and much evidence is still to be led in it. I certainly cannot prejudge, or seek to cut across in any way, the work of a public inquiry. On Jackie Baillie’s question about lessons being learned, I have already mentioned, in my statement and in my response to Sandesh Gulhane, the implementation of NHS Scotland assure.”
“I thank the cabinet secretary for his statement and Lord Brodie for the interim report. However, the cabinet secretary will recognise that this is just one half of the story. In the case of the Edinburgh sick kids hospital, unfortunate though the delay and the uncertainty were for families, thankfully no child lost their life. I believe that Jeane Freeman was right to put patient safety first. In contrast, the Queen Elizabeth university hospital—Nicola Sturgeon’s flagship hospital— was rushed through when it clearly was not safe, and children died as a consequence. We await the findings of Lord Brodie’s final report, but what lessons have been learned to avoid taking such a reckless approach again, as appears to have happened with the Queen Elizabeth university hospital?”
“What greater example could there be of where propriety is required than where women have to take off their clothes—to disrobe—to put on hospital scrubs? I ask that question of Jackie Baillie because the cabinet secretary, for whatever reason, chose not to take an intervention from me. Jackie Baillie: That was a long intervention, but Fergus Ewing is right, and I am surprised that the cabinet secretary did not reference those regulations. If the SNP Government had kept to what it states in its amendment by respecting the Equality Act 2010 and those regulations, that would have been clear to public bodies and the recent dispute in NHS Fife would not have happened. How many other public bodies are not interpreting the law correctly? The SNP Government must undo the mess that it has created by swiftly giving clarity—”
“Schools have a duty to protect their students and create a welcoming environment for all. That includes providing accessible and single-sex toilets so that girls of all ages feel that they have the privacy that they need. In public workplaces such as hospitals, female staff should have the right to access single-sex changing rooms. Fergus Ewing: I am most grateful to Jackie Baillie for taking my intervention. Separate spaces are protected not only under the Equalities Act 2010 but specifically under regulation 24 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, which says that changing facilities “shall not be suitable unless they include separate facilities for, or separate use of facilities by, men and women where necessary for reasons of propriety”.”
“Women and girls have a right to feel safe in our public buildings, especially in schools and hospitals—places that they attend out of necessity and often at moments in their lives when they may feel vulnerable. Schools should be warm and welcoming places where all young people can thrive, but they are also a microcosm of some of the behaviour that women experience more generally. A 2022 survey by the University of Glasgow found that almost two thirds of pupils at Scottish secondary schools have experienced sexual harassment at or on their way to school, with a third describing invasive behaviour such as sexual touching. For all young people, the high school years are a time of physical transformation that often comes hand in hand with a desire for privacy.”
“On one level, it is disappointing that we are having to have this debate. That is undoubtedly because the Scottish Government has failed to provide leadership. It has allowed the lack of clarity about the protection of single-sex spaces to continue. Although the Scottish Government’s amendment asserts that the Scottish Government follows the law, that contradicts people’s experience. There are examples in the public sector of where the SNP has allowed practice to get ahead of the law. Some people assert that that has been encouraged. So, let me be clear: single-sex spaces based on biological sex are protected under the Equality Act 2010.”
“It is not too late for them to do the right thing, and I urge them to back Scotland’s women and girls. That might go some way towards repairing the damage that was done by the madness of self-ID. I proudly move, That the Parliament believes that the Scottish Government has failed to give sufficient clarity to the public sector about ensuring the availability of single-sex spaces for women and girls, such as toilets and changing rooms; acknowledges that this failure has resulted in workers in the public sector and school pupils having to share single-sex spaces with individuals of the opposite sex, jeopardising their safety, dignity and privacy, and subjecting some to horrific incidents of sexual abuse and harassment, and calls on the Scottish Government to urgently issue a directive to all public sector organisations requiring that adequate single-sex spaces for biological women and girls are provided on their premises in line with legal obligations.”
“It might even be the first step in rehabilitating her record and her legacy. I turn to her successor. John Swinney said that he has no regrets about backing self-ID, and there are concerns that he will resurrect it if he thinks that he can get away with it. He should not do so. What he should do is to issue a clear message today to all of Scotland’s public bodies and state- funded agencies. Here is that message: women and girls are legally entitled to single-sex spaces, and women and girls should never be punished for exercising their rights. That should be obvious to anyone who possesses an ounce of common sense and compassion. I assume that Anas Sarwar’s epiphany means that Labour will support our motion. As for SNP members, I know that many of them share my party’s views.”
“Russell Findlay: I have 11 minutes for this entire speech, but I could spend 11 minutes providing details of evidence. [Interruption.] I find it extraordinary that the member would be so oblivious to the reality of the harms that are being caused every single day. Nicola Sturgeon was the architect of this bitterly divisive legislation and cheerleader for its dangerous ideology. She was the first female First Minister but she has caused untold damage to women’s rights. Today, she has announced that she will not seek re-election to Holyrood. I want to give Nicola Sturgeon an opportunity today to admit her mistakes and get on the right side of history. I ask her to vote for the motion. By doing so, she could send a signal to the women of Scotland that she got it wrong. Who knows?”
“Oh, come on. That is so pathetic. Russell Findlay: No—I know, and they know, that every single bit of information was right in front of them. [Interruption.] All the warnings were writ large, and all the warnings were ignored. Mercedes Villalba: Will the member take an intervention? Russell Findlay: I will if we have time. Presiding Officer, is there time in hand? The Deputy Presiding Officer: There is very little time in hand, but I can give you some of the time back. Mercedes Villalba: Can the member point to any evidence of harm to others arising from granting transgender people access to single-sex spaces that align with their gender? Do you have any evidence? The Deputy Presiding Officer: Speak through the chair, please.”
“Seriously? The First Minister: Yes, I say to Jackie Baillie, seriously. Speaking truth to the Parliament is what I am about. The Labour Party might want to deceive—[Interruption.] The Presiding Officer: Members, let us hear the First Minister. The First Minister: For some reason, on an issue on which we are tackling disinformation in our society, Jackie Baillie believes that she should question the integrity of the First Minister speaking truth to the Parliament, which I do at all times. Neither she nor any other member can come to the Parliament and say otherwise, and it is a disgrace that such behaviour takes place in the Parliament. The Presiding Officer: I remind all members that they should not shout from their seats. Business Confidence 4.”
“I welcome the minister’s comments, but rather than following developments and asking for timelines, what engagement will ministers have with the UK National Screening Committee to ensure that SMA screening is agreed? Jenni Minto: That is an engagement that we are continuing to have, both through the cabinet secretary and through me. Neurodevelopmental and Speech and Language Therapy Assessments 4.”
“To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking, in light of reports by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine that the number of people waiting in A and E for over 12 hours is almost 100 times higher than in 2011. (S6T-02340)”
“I move amendment S6M-16518.1, to leave out first “5.15 pm Decision Time” and insert: “followed by Ministerial Statement: Public Sector Workers’ Access to Single Sex Spaces 5.45 pm Decision Time”. The Presiding Officer: I call Jamie Hepburn to respond on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau. 14:07”
“Topical questions, First Minister’s questions and urgent questions that have been lodged on the issue have not been selected. Meanwhile, our colleagues in Westminster have been able to raise it. It is deeply disappointing that, once again, this Parliament cannot discharge its duties to the public because members do not have parliamentary privilege. Women are watching today. The public has had enough of the recent abdication, obfuscation and moral cowardice from the Government, and we are only going to see more witch hunts at the public’s expense if we do not get clarity on the Scottish Government’s position. I urge members to support my amendment.”
“Taxpayers’ money is being used to cover legal costs to defend a public body’s gender policy, but there is no transparency over the cost to the public purse because the health board involved will not disclose that information. That is simply not acceptable, especially when the health service is in crisis and budgets are being squeezed. It has been reported that the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Neil Gray, was made aware in June last year of the situation in NHS Fife and the legal implications of it. We need clarity over Neil Gray’s involvement or lack thereof. The public interest in the issue is huge. It has been covered extensively in the press and MSPs have been contacted by constituents with legitimate questions and concerns, and yet we have not been able to bring those questions to the chamber.”
“The protection of single-sex spaces based on biological sex is a matter of law—it is in the Equality Act 2010. In supporting the amendment calling for a statement, I ask whether Tess White agrees with me that the Scottish Government and its agencies are not above the law. Tess White: I thank Jackie Baillie, and I completely agree with her that the Scottish Government and its agencies are not above the law. The situation that has arisen in NHS Fife speaks volumes about what is happening behind closed doors in Scotland’s public sector under the SNP Government. The reality is that Nicola Sturgeon’s self-identification policy has binned the rights of biologically female employees to access single- sex spaces.”
“To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to address the reported shortage in clinical radiologists, which is projected to rise to 263 fewer posts than needed by 2028. (S6F-03787)”
“On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I apologise. My phone was in the possession of information technology staff because my app would not connect. I would have voted no. The Presiding Officer: Thank you, Ms Baillie. We will ensure that that is recorded.”
“It is little wonder that people vote with their feet and head to out-of-hours or accident and emergency departments because they cannot get appointments. Last night, we were told about GPs in the Lothians who are unemployed. I will repeat that: they are unemployed. At least one is working for Uber. Others go to Australia to work for one month on and one month off. At a time when we are short of GPs and patient demand is increasing, what is the Government thinking? It is a shocking waste of talent that could be deployed in our”
“For 18 years, it has failed time and time again to protect the health service and to plan for its future. Let me be honest: attempts at workforce planning have been woeful. The SNP must own the consequences of that, because the evidence is there for all to see. Audit Scotland reports that the target of 800 more general practitioners by 2027 is unlikely to be met. The British Medical Association tells us that an extra 1,000 GPs are needed just to stand still and meet current demand, and it also points out that, despite the Government’s promise, GP numbers are declining and not increasing. At the same time, patient numbers are rising. GPs simply cannot care for more people with the current capacity.”
“To deny the pressures that the NHS in Scotland is facing is, frankly, delusional, and I am tired of the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care telling me that things are actually okay. The situation is causing moral injury to the staff. It compromises patient safety and results in worse outcomes. However, members should not just take my word for it. In the Royal College of Nursing’s damning report on corridor care, which is now the norm, one nurse said: “I am now in the process of leaving the nhs … It is fraying at the seams and has left me with mental health problems and trauma.” The crisis cannot be blamed on winter flu cases or Covid-19. The NHS was sailing into troubled waters long before 2020 and the SNP has been in charge for all of that time.”
“In Scotland, more than 7,000 patients have waited more than two years for surgery. In contrast, in England— which has a population more than 10 times the size of Scotland’s—only 151 people have been waiting more than two years. Cancer patients are being let down as treatment targets are not met. Thousands of children are stuck on child and adolescent mental health services waiting lists while countless others are turned away. Health inequalities are widening and life expectancy is declining. Two thousand Scots are currently stuck in hospital who have been medically cleared to leave but are unable to do so. I say very politely to the First Minister—who was very animated with me last week—that, across a whole host of measures, things are getting worse and not better.”
“Let me begin on a note of consensus. The staff of NHS Scotland and those who work in social care do an incredible job. They are the backbone of the national health service and of social care; without them, the services would collapse, so they deserve our heartfelt thanks. However, they are firefighting in a broken system, and they are telling us that things cannot go on like this. Staff are leaving the NHS and social care in their droves and far too many are being signed off with exhaustion and poor mental health. They are burnt out because our NHS and our social care system are in a state of crisis. Responsibility for that lies squarely with the Scottish National Party Government. Right now, more than 863,000 Scots are stuck on an NHS waiting list, and more than 100,000 of them have been there for over a year.”
“To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the public inquiry into the investigation of Emma Caldwell’s murder. (S6O-04258)”
“In 2021, Humza Yousaf said: “The creation of a national care service will be the most significant public sector reform since the creation of the NHS in 1948, and the service will be operational within the five-year lifetime of this Parliament.”—[Official Report, 1 June 2021; c 29.] Well, that has aged well. There is no national care service, and little difference has been made for those who receive social care. It has been yet another failure. The Deputy Presiding Officer: I need a question, Ms Baillie. Jackie Baillie: Is it not time for Neil Gray to follow Humza Yousaf’s lead and resign?”
“We are three years on and three cabinet secretaries and two ministers later. Almost 200 civil servants have been involved, £2 million has been spent on private consultants and it has cost nearly £30 million of taxpayers’ money—just on this bill. Although I welcome the remaining provisions, the national care service is no more. Not a single penny of the £30 million has been spent on care packages. That money would have delivered a million extra hours of care and would have stopped care packages being cut and care homes being closed, yet the minister knows that the bill will do little to improve social care. What a waste of time and money. The centrepiece of the SNP’s legislative programme has been sidelined—a bit like the health secretary.”
“The author of the survey that Mr Sarwar cited to me last week—the Royal College of Nursing—was represented around the table. It is important to note that I heard directly from those who represent some of the workforce. That is not the last discussion that we will have in Bute house about the national health service. We made that clear earlier in the week. If Jackie Baillie had been paying as much attention to my press output as Anas Sarwar has, she would have heard that there will be more round-table discussions in Bute house. I will be delighted for Unison, the GMB and other unions to participate. I suspect that they will make a more constructive contribution than Jackie Baillie ever will. Deepfake Images and Videos 6.”
“[Interruption.] The Presiding Officer: Can we please conduct ourselves in an orderly manner? The First Minister: I am going to explain the fact that Jackie Baillie is sharing incorrect information with the Parliament. If Jackie Baillie— [Interruption.] The Presiding Officer: This is wholly unacceptable. If there are members who wish to come to the chamber and shout, they should perhaps think about whether this is where they wish to be. We have a great—[Interruption.] If members wish to remain in the chamber, it is essential that they conduct themselves in a courteous and respectful manner. That includes respecting the authority of the chair. The First Minister: On Wednesday, I had a round-table discussion with the health secretary and a range of health stakeholders, some of whom represent employees in the national health service.”
“Jackie Baillie should stop running down the staff of the national health service. For her information, I note that more than 1 million patients in Scotland have been treated within the four-hour target during the past year, and that is because our staff deliver on our behalf. We are very proud of them, into the bargain. [Interruption.] The Presiding Officer: Let us hear the First Minister. The First Minister: Oh, I think that I have touched—[Interruption.] The Presiding Officer: I am calling on members to ensure that we can hear the First Minister or, indeed, whoever has been called to speak. The First Minister: I do not think that Jackie Baillie wants to hear that she is giving factual inaccuracies to the Parliament today. I do not think that she is interested in hearing that.”
“I therefore ask the First Minister to explain why Unison and other trade unions that represent the majority of NHS staff were not invited to his meeting yesterday. Do they not matter? The First Minister: Jackie Baillie said that every week it gets worse. That is not true. [Interruption.] I am getting lectured about the importance of accuracy in what we say in the Parliament, so Jackie Baillie better listen to what I am going to say to her about her statement. [Interruption.] The Presiding Officer: Let us hear the First Minister. The First Minister: Although the performance of A and E units is not where we want it to be, performance on the four-hour target has risen in each week since the week ending 22 December as a result of the hard work of the staff in the health service.”
“Every week the First Minister says sorry, and every week it gets worse. A and E departments across Scotland continue to be in chaos, with more than 173,000 patients having waited more than eight hours to be seen in A and E last year. The First Minister hosted an NHS crisis meeting in Bute house yesterday. He has already sidelined the health secretary, and he is finally waking up to the years of Scottish National Party failure, but, of course, he was at the heart of the SNP Government for 17 of those 18 years. The First Minister is keen to tell us about the importance of staff, and on that we can agree. They are working flat out to keep patients safe, and there is no solution to the crisis that does not involve NHS staff.”
“I am pleased to say that the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care has written to NHS Highland today and, if Jackie Baillie has any further questions about vaccine availability and location, officials would be happy to speak to her.”
“The First Minister has pointed to the flu outbreak as the reason for the crisis in our hospitals this winter, but that is little wonder when one considers that this year’s flu programme is operating at least a month later than the programme in either of the past two years. Vaccinations are later, uptake is much lower and, consequently, thousands fewer people have been vaccinated. Some general practitioners, particularly in NHS Highland, have called for vaccinations to return to being delivered by GPs. Does the minister support such a move? Jenni Minto: I thank Jackie Baillie for her question and recognise, as I think I said in answer to her almost two years ago, that we perhaps need different solutions for different areas. I live in Argyll and Bute and, in my area of NHS Highland, there is such flexibility.”
“I think that it is important that we do that on a joint, UK-wide basis. That is precisely why all four nations are, I believe—unless someone corrects me— responding simultaneously this afternoon. The Deputy Presiding Officer: I advise the chamber that several members wish to ask their questions. To get as many in as possible, I need succinct questions and succinct answers to match.”
“The member also talked about the importance of health resilience, which is captured in the report and in our response to it. As I said, we have been taking a lot of steps to improve the resilience of our health system in order to deal with pandemics in the future. We have identified a number of points in our response to the inquiry’s chair, some of which relate to PPE supply, distribution and training. We are also looking to work with the UK Government on areas of joint surveillance, recognising that the 2011 UK pandemic flu plan was not fit for purpose. Those are just three examples of how we are ensuring that there is greater resilience across the health service and that the people in it are prepared and have the capacity to respond in the future. I note that the member welcomed the commitment on reporting to Parliament.”
“Thirdly, and finally, we know that risk assessments were not undertaken when the Scottish Government gave the green light for health boards to discharge untested patients into care homes, with the result that Covid-19 spread like wildfire among the most vulnerable. Can the Deputy First Minister assure the chamber that such actions will be fully risk assessed in the future? Kate Forbes: On the point about WhatsApp and the use of mobile phones, that is an example of how the Scottish Government has responded in advance of today’s statement. As the member will know, we have set out a new policy on the use of WhatsApp, which means that corporate devices will not be able to access it. As a result, and in response to the review by Emma Martins, we have set out a new policy for the use of mobile messaging.”
“I welcome the fact that all four nations are working together to improve resilience and planning for future pandemics. Many lessons need to be learned, but I will focus on just three of them. First, I welcome the three-yearly reporting to Parliament. Given the lack of planning and scrutiny in the past with regard to the Silver Swan initiative, that will be a definite improvement. Secondly, I think that the Deputy First Minister would acknowledge that trust is important and that, therefore, openness and transparency must be our watchwords. That must be more than just a principle; it must also be practice. So, can the Deputy First Minister tell me that the wholesale deletion of WhatsApp messages by ministers and civil servants, including John Swinney, will not happen again?”
“We are treating more cancer patients on time, within both standards, than we did 10 years ago: 12 per cent more within the 31-day standard and 6 per cent more within the 62-day standard. The median wait for treatment within the 31-day standard is just four days. Ms Baillie’s point about rapidity is absolutely well made, and the Government is working hard to deliver that aim. My principal answer to Jackie Baillie is that our focus is on developing rapid cancer diagnostic services, which are critical to ensuring that the earliest possible action and intervention happen to address the circumstances that she has put to me. That will remain the focus of the Government’s intervention in that area of policy. Sexual Assault (Hospitals) 6.”
“This week is less survivable cancers awareness week. Sixty- one per cent of people in Scotland who are diagnosed with less survivable cancers—that is, lung, liver, brain, oesophagus, pancreatic and stomach cancers—will die from their disease within one year. In common with bowel cancer cases, early diagnosis and treatment are key to improving survival rates for such patients. Although the cancer strategy is welcome, we need action to be taken more quickly if we are to save lives. What more will the First Minister do to improve early diagnosis of the cancers that I have mentioned, and to drive better outcomes for patients? The First Minister: Jackie Baillie has raised an important issue. I reassure her that the Government is absolutely committed to that endeavour.”
“Those include shifting the balance of care; reducing hospital occupancy; reducing the length of stay in hospitals; and reducing delayed discharge, because that is what is causing our systems to choke, which has meant that our ambulance service staff—to whom, again, I am very grateful—have been struggling to be able to convey patients into hospitals. I am not absolving myself of responsibility for the situation that is being faced; I am simply trying to point out to Ms Baillie the context, of which I know that she and others across the country will be aware. The Presiding Officer: I am keen to enable as many members as possible to put questions, so concise questions and responses are required.”
“With regard to the Scottish Ambulance Service, Jackie Baillie is absolutely right that it has faced unprecedented demands on its services. However, in order for her argument to hold water, she has to pretend that ambulance services elsewhere in the United Kingdom have not also faced unprecedented challenges. The critical incidents that were announced in Wales and in various hospital trusts in England point to those pressures being a shared challenge that has been faced this year because of flu. I was incredibly heartened by the conversation that I was able to have with Wes Streeting and other health ministers across the four nations just before Christmas about what we need to do on reform and improvement, because I believe that there are shared areas in which we are looking to invest.”