Ministers are set to share their vision for health and social care services in Scotland, with priorities to be to support the workforce, increase the adoption of innovation, and keep the NHS in public hands.

Ahead of a debate on the future of Scotland’s health and social care services, both the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care and Scotland’s First Minister have confirmed that the Scottish government is committed to avoiding privatisation.

This position – to keep the NHS in public hands – will be central to the SNP’s election campaign, according to the First Minister.

Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care Neil Gray says that while meeting immediate challenges is his ‘foremost priority’, future planning is underway.

Announcing £1.2m investment in new tech to cut NHS theatre waits, Mr Gray said he does not “shy away” from the current pressures facing the NHS, adding that he recognises his “duty to look to the future” and consider exactly what the health service will look like in years and decades’ time.

Mr Gray said MSPs from all parties will put their ideas forward for a national vision on the NHS, a process that looks set to begin with Tuesday’s debate.

Beyond politicians, he said the public, NHS staff, researchers and industry input will play a “crucial role in driving Scotland’s healthier future” as part of a national conversation:

“I want us to have a shared, collective, national vision for what a thriving NHS looks like in the years and decades to come.

“I want this to be a truly national debate – hearing directly from patients, the NHS workforce and everyone with an interest in making our health service the best it can be.”

Mr Gray outlined the “devastating toll” of COVID-19 on both individuals and the NHS, along with the current financial context has created a “perfect storm”.

However, he said clarity on the values that will underpin this shared vision are key, including committing to stand against privatisation of the NHS:

“So let me be very clear at the outset – our NHS must always remain true to its founding principles. Publicly owned and free at the point of need.

“The Scottish government will stand against any and all attempts to privatise the NHS by stealth – our health service in Scotland will always be in public hands.”

This comes after an insight into the recovery of ‘crucial’ NHS services across Scotland revealed many are yet to fully reopen, more than four years after first closing due to COVID-19.

Last month, First Minister John Swinney said improving public services, like the NHS, eradicating child poverty, tackling the climate emergency and driving economic growth as priorities for 2024.

Reflecting on this, Mr Gray said each of these align with his goal of a thriving, publicly owned health services in the decades to come.

Mr Gray said that facing up to the impact climate change on Scotland’s NHS is necessary for improving the nation’s health.

Action around the environmental impacts on health will be at the heart of government plans, according to the Cabinet Secretary:

“We know that climate change could have serious health impacts – so tackling it is a moral, economic, environmental and a health imperative.”

Investing in growing and support the workforce will be vital to NHS transformation, which he said will in turn grow Scotland’s economy.

Meanwhile, launching the SNP election campaign at the weekend, the First Minister made the rejection of privatisation of the NHS a key plank of the party’s message to voters:

“If there is creeping privatisation of the NHS, or if Labour do not increase investment in the NHS in England, our precious National Health Service faces a very bleak future.”

Read more:  Watchdog: ‘No overall vision' for NHS; Psychiatrists in ‘disbelief' over cut funding; Snapshot of NHS recovery revealed; Auditor General: Difficult choices for Scotland's NHS; Urgent workforce reforms needed for Scotland's NHS; Labour wants clinician-led ‘revolution' of NHS; ‘Bleak picture': health leaders react to NHS review

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