Annual Report 2018-19

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NHS will get much worse over winter ministers warned as major reform urged

Scotland’s NHS will become “much worse” over the winter, the head of the doctors’ union has warned after a report said fundamental reform in the health service is needed. The Audit Scotland report said some services may need to be withdrawn in order to free up resources to meet growing demand for healthcare. It said the Scottish Government has no clear plan for how to bring about change in the NHS. However Health Secretary Neil Gray has insisted the Government has a plan to shift care away from under-pressure hospitals and into the community. Dr Iain Kennedy, chairman of the BMA’s Scotland Council, said there is a need for “radical reform” in the NHS. He told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme: “We have heard these warnings before – another seriously worrying report from Audit Scotland that confirms the NHS in Scotland is in crisis with worsening performance. “It’s clear that urgent action is now required.” A new operational plan for the NHS is needed, he said, with the current one dating back to 2020. Dr Kennedy was asked about the recent critical incident declared at NHS Grampian, which saw patients being diverted away from over-capacity hospitals, and if the situation will get more difficult over the winter. He said: “I’m expecting things to get much worse, but it’s all predictable, this was always coming. “We haven’t acted as a country to put the resources in the right place over all these years.” Mr Gray said he understands the case for reform, arguing the Government is trying to take a more preventative approach to healthcare. He told Good Morning Scotland: “We do have a clear plan, and the plan is to shift the balance of care from the secondary services that we’re currently seeing extremely high demand towards more preventative primary care. “Investing in our GP surgeries, in our pharmacists and our optometrists to ensure that people are treated earlier, so that their symptoms do not deteriorate, either on their mental or their physical health, and that we see people arriving at hospital.” He said one issue is that GP consultations are taking longer due to people arriving with more complex conditions. The Government has invested more than £1 billion in social care provision to help clear the backlog in the NHS, he said. The Audit Scotland report made clear that without change, “the NHS is unlikely to be able to meet growing demand”. It added: “Scotland’s NHS is still struggling to deliver care in a timely way, most waiting times standards are not being met.” Auditors found: “Despite increasing funding and staffing, the NHS in Scotland is still seeing fewer patients than before the Covid-19 pandemic. “Progress to reduce the backlog of care has been slower than anticipated.” Scottish Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said the report is a “damning indictment of the SNP’s appalling mismanagement of Scotland’s NHS”. He added: “Successive SNP health secretaries have been asleep at the wheel as the health service has ended up in permanent crisis on their watch. “Their dire workforce planning and complete lack of vision means that delayed discharge has reached record levels, hundreds of thousands of Scots are on NHS waiting lists, and cancer waiting times have not been met for over a decade. “In the week of the Budget, this report should be an urgent wake-up call for the SNP to ensure that money is invested in the right areas of our NHS, to ease the burden on patients and staff suffering due to their incompetence.” Labour health spokeswoman Dame Jackie Baillie said: “(First Minister) John Swinney likes to talk up his NHS record but this damning report shows the scale of SNP incompetence on his watch. “Spending on agency staff is up 45% on five years ago, yet delayed discharge is at a record high and the NHS is missing three-quarters of waiting list targets. “After 17 years of the SNP, our health service is broken. The report shows clearly the price hard-working NHS staff and patients are paying for the lack of leadership from the SNP.” Published: 03/12/2024 by Radio NewsHub

Emir of Qatar to begin two day state visit to UK

The Emir of Qatar will begin a two-day state visit to the UK hosted by the King. Charles will welcome Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and the first of his three wives, Sheikha Jawaher, during a ceremony of pomp and pageantry staged in Whitehall. But missing will be Queen Camilla who, on Monday evening, pulled out of the official open-air greeting on Horse Guards Parade and a carriage ride back to Buckingham Palace, due to lingering effects of a recent viral chest infection. Camilla will join the royal party later for a private lunch with the Emir and his wife and will also take part in all but one of the elements of the evening state banquet at Buckingham Palace, staged in honour of the Emir. The Prince and Princess of Wales will take part in the ceremony on Horse Guards Parade, one of the few official appearances by Kate during a year in which she has been successfully treated for cancer. The princess has been gradually returning to royal duties after she announced in September she had completed her chemotherapy treatment and her focus was “doing what I can to stay cancer free”. She will travel with her husband in the carriage procession and the couple will join Charles and Camilla as they host a lunch for their guests Sheikh Tamim and Sheikha Jawaher. However, Kate will not attend the state banquet hosted by the King, although William will be a guest. Doctors have urged Camilla, 77, to take time to rest and recover fully because of the lingering effects of the illness, contracted a month ago following her long-haul trip to Australia and Samoa, which include diminished reserves of energy. She is hoping to be able to view a display of Qatari artefacts after lunch in the palace’s picture gallery with her husband, the Waleses and the Emir, and at the start of the state banquet will pose for a group photo but will take a short break before dinner while guests are met in a receiving line. No major changes are expected to her diary for the rest of the week, but the Queen has been advised by her medical team to take each day as it comes. Meanwhile, the occasion marks the start of a busier week for Kate, who will be hosting her annual Christmas carol service at Westminster Abbey on Friday, when she is expected to be joined by her children and husband for the event. Sheikh Tamim, 44, was educated in Britain, attending public schools Sherborne and Harrow, before graduating from Sandhurst military academy. On Wednesday, the final day of the two-day visit, the Emir will visit Sandhurst before travelling to the Palace to bid farewell formally to the King and Queen, with Camilla expected to be there. Sheikh Tamim will also travel to Downing Street for bilateral talks with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. Qatar, one of the richest Gulf states, is a key mediator in the Israel-Hamas war, and there are reports the Government is hoping to seal a free-trade deal with the Gulf Co-operation Council. But the country has faced criticism over its human rights record, in particular the abuse of migrant workers during Fifa World Cup in 2022, its criminalisation of same-sex relationships, and its discrimination against women. Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell condemned the decision to “reward” the Emir with the honour of a state visit, saying “Feting the Emir is collusion with tyranny”. His Peter Tatchell Foundation is to stage a peaceful protest near Buckingham Palace, at Canada Gate to the right of the royal residence, on Tuesday morning ready for when Sheikh Tamim arrives in the carriage procession. Mr Tatchell said: “Keir Starmer and King Charles should not reward the Emir with the honour of a state visit while his regime continues to victimise women, LGBTs and migrant workers. “Feting the Emir is collusion with tyranny.” He added: “The Qatar government is a police state dictatorship. It’s guilty of systemic homophobia, sexism and the suppression of workers’ rights and basic freedoms like free speech and the right to protest. “This state visit sends the wrong message – that the UK prioritises trade and investment over human rights. “The UK should be challenging Qatar’s human rights record and seeking the release of political prisoners, not rewarding its ruler with royal pageantry and red carpets.” Mr Tatchell travelled to Qatar to stage an LGBT+ rights protest during the Fifa World Cup, but told how he was detained and interrogated by the authorities before being ordered to the airport to depart the country. “This London protest is about continuing to expose the brutal reality behind Qatar’s carefully crafted public image,” he said. He added: “We urge everyone who values equality and freedom to join our peaceful protest.” Published: 03/12/2024 by Radio NewsHub

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Annual Report 2018-19

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NHS will get much worse over winter ministers warned as major reform urged

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