The Scottish Conservatives have today (Friday) launched a plan to rebuild our NHS after nearly two decades of SNP mismanagement.
The party have pledged to commit 12% of the NHS budget to general practice to guarantee patients a GP appointment within 48 hours by the end of the next parliament, slash bureaucracy by cutting one-third of management roles and roll out AI across the health service.
Other key proposals in the paper include:
· Fast-tracking the rollout of a single NHS app and delivering it by 2028
· Introducing a Scottish First policy to guarantee that any medical student studying in Scotland will have access to a GP training programme
· Increasing the number of procedures done in a day by twinning theatres and introducing a minimum number of Super Saturdays per year
· Cutting down on the number of separate departments in NHS boards when their functions are similar
Shadow health secretary Dr Sandesh Gulhane says that the SNP have run our NHS into the ground, allowing waiting lists to spiral out of control, while frontline staff burn out at record levels.
He added that the Scottish Conservatives’ plan would cut waiting times, strengthen primary care and make the NHS work for patients and staff.
Scottish Conservative shadow health secretary Dr Sandesh Gulhane MSP said: “After nearly two decades of SNP mismanagement our NHS is in permanent crisis mode.
“Waiting lists have spiralled out of control, frontline staff are burning out at record levels and our health service has become weighed down by bureaucracy.
“That’s why we have launched a bold plan to rebuild our NHS. We would slash bureaucracy by cutting one-third of management roles, guarantee patients a GP appointment within 48 hours and roll out AI to free-up medics to treat patients.
“These common-sense proposals would cut waiting lists, strengthen primary care and make the NHS work for patients and staff.
“John Swinney and Neil Gray desperately need to get out of the Holyrood bubble and listen to exhausted medics and patients who are crying out for a serious plan to address this situation.
“The SNP have proved they can’t be trusted with our health service. That’s why it’s crucial to vote Scottish Conservative on your peach ballot, wherever you are in the country, to stop a nationalist majority and switch the focus on to the issues that really matter to Scots.”