14 Jan 2020

The Scottish Conservatives have criticised the latest figures on delayed discharge from hospital as “five years of SNP failure” as the Scottish government still hasn’t fulfilled their 2015 promise to eradicated the issue.

The number of patients experiencing a delayed discharge from the Scottish NHS and the number of bed days has increased compared to a year ago, according to the latest statistics from ISD.

The figures, released today, show that in November 2019, 44,915 days were spent in hospital by people whose discharge was delayed, compared to 43,918 in November 2018.

While the numbers have decreased from October 2019, the latest figures are a 2 percent increase from the year before and are nowhere near the ‘eradication’ promised by the previous Health Secretary in 2015.

Lastly, at the November 2019 census point, there were 1,485 people delayed. This is an increase of 5 percent compared with the number of people delayed (1,413) at the census point in November 2018.

Miles Briggs, Scottish Conservative shadow health secretary said:

“These latest shocking figures on delayed discharge illustrate five years of SNP failure.

“Five years ago the SNP promised to eradicate delayed discharge yet, in November last year 1500 people experienced an unnecessary stay in hospital – that is a scandal.

“Delayed discharge is deeply frustrating for patients and is reducing capacity in our NHS.

“The SNP has been completely unable to tackle the capacity issues in our NHS, condemning thousands of patients to longer waiting times.

“The SNP has been in charge of our NHS for 12 years and the figures just keep getting worse – this is why the vast majority of Scots know that the SNP cannot be trusted to run our NHS.”

9 Jan 2020

Labour leader Richard Leonard has confirmed his willingness to surrender to the SNP over a second independence referendum.

It has been reported that he will ask the party’s Scottish executive committee about backing the divisive re-run.

It completes the party’s journey from backing the union in 2014 and being key players in Better Together, to waving through the nationalists’ plot to break up the UK.

And it means, by the summit in May, Labour could have abandoned their pro-union stance altogether.

That leaves the Scottish Conservatives as the only major party opposed to a second referendum vote and instead focusing on improving public services and the economy.

Scottish Conservative chief whip Maurice Golden said:

“This indicates Labour’s long and painful surrender to the SNP.

“Ever since the independence referendum, they just haven’t been serious about Scotland’s place in the union.

“Now Richard Leonard has confirmed his willingness to break it up altogether.

“This move is a disgraceful sell out of the two million No voters, many of whom identified as lifelong Labour supporters.

“But those people can be assured the Scottish Conservatives will never turn our back on them or the UK.”

2 Jan 2020

The number of patients receiving treatment for Parkinson’s disease in Scotland is rising sharply.

According to latest figures, there were 333,000 drugs handed out last year, signalling an increasing annual trend.

The number of patients receiving the medication has risen by more than 28 per cent since 2010/11, according to the research by the Scottish Conservatives.

The majority of people who suffer from Parkinson’s are elderly, and the increase appears to be another consequence of Scotland’s ageing population.

The Scottish Conservatives said more had to be done to ensure the NHS north of the border was equipped to deal with the rise.

The ISD Scotland figures show there were 333,167 Parkinson’s drug items dispensed in 2018/19.

That compares to 323,999 the previous year, and 319,389 in 2016/17.

In 2010/11, there were only 260,355 items dispensed.

Because of decreasing drug prices, the overall cost has remained steady at around £11 million per year.

Scottish Conservative shadow health secretary Miles Briggs said:

“It’s very worrying that more and more people are receiving treatment for such a painful and debilitating illness.

“Of course, people living longer is a great thing, but it also brings challenges.

“It’s essential the SNP government ensures our NHS is equipped to help these patients and give them the care they need.

“The nationalists have been caught out before when it comes to coping with an ageing demographic – they cannot afford to make the same mistake here.”

1 Jan 2020

Scotland’s fire service is spending increasing amounts of cash on overtime as the organisation endures years of SNP cuts.

The brigade spent £7.2 million on overtime costs last year, the second highest amount in years.

It comes as unions argue the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has been putting up with more than a decade of funding reductions.

The statistics were obtained by the Scottish Conservatives through Freedom of Information.

They show £5.5 million was spent in overtime in 2015/16, followed by £5.8 million the following year.

That then dropped to £4.9 million in 2016/17 but rocketed to £8.3 million in 2017/18.

The five-year total is now more than £31 million.

Earlier this year, the Fire Brigade Union said there were 917 fewer firefighters than in 2010, placing a greater strain on firemen and women and putting the public at more risk.

Scottish Conservative shadow justice secretary Liam Kerr said:

“We know the fire service has been placed under increasing strain over the years by this SNP government.

“The fact so many millions more are being spent on overtime payments proves that point.

“Clearly, the existing firefighters and other brigade staff are being asked to do more, and that’s down to a lack of resources.

“It’s time the SNP started listening to firefighters and provided the organisation with what they need to do the job.

“Of course an organisation like the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service will always require some overtime work, but the millions more being spent in the last couple of years point to a real problem.”

31 Dec 2019

See below a New Year message from Scottish Conservative leader Jackson Carlaw.

“Firstly, may I wish everybody a very happy new year, and welcome everybody to the 2020s.

“In the next few weeks, we will finally be leaving the European Union and delivering on the referendum we held in 2016.

“The first thing to say is to speak directly to European citizens living in Scotland and the UK.

“We may be leaving the institutions of the European Union at the end of the month, but the UK and Europe remain united by our shared continent.

“This is your home and we want you to stay.

“The fall-out from the referendum result has created huge tensions across the country.

“I hope that, once we have left Brussels at the end of this month, those tensions will dissipate and we can come back together.

“It is time to move on from the decade of division we have just been through, and enter a new decade of delivery for all.

“I am optimistic that this will indeed happen.

“Under the newly elected Conservative majority government, the country now has the direction it has lacked over recent years.

“It can now focus on delivering progress on the big challenges ahead of us – spreading prosperity across the whole country, tackling climate change, and restoring our public services to their right place as the best in the world.

“More constitutional division is not what Scotland wants this year. It is in all our interests to recognise that.

“I’d like to thank all those who have been out over Christmas season caring for the sick and the needy.

“I’m looking forward to getting back to work – and getting on with making our whole country a better, more united, place.”