How are the SNP preparing for the demand that the changing demographic of Scotland will have on our NHS?

Scotland’s population is changing and our health service must change with it. The fact that people are living longer is to be welcomed, but we must ensure that services match their needs both now and in the future.

By the end of the next parliament we will increase the NHS revenue budget by £500 million more than inflation – which means that it will increase by almost £2 billion in total. To deliver upon that commitment we are providing additional investment of over £400 million in the health service in 2018-19, including £110 million investment in primary care reform.

To meet the challenge of an ageing population an additional £1.3 billion will be invested in our health and social care partnerships, reforming primary care and increasing the numbers of GPs and nurses working in our communities. This will include the recruitment of 500 additional advanced nurse practitioners, equipping nurses to take a lead role in providing integrated health care.

The Golden Jubilee hospital in Clydebank has been a huge success specialising in elective procedures like hips, knees and cataracts and we will now extend that model to meet the expected increase in demand for these procedures. We will invest £200 million to create a new network of elective treatment centres – extending the Golden Jubilee and developing new centres at St John’s in Livingston, at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, at Ninewells in Dundee, at Raigmore in Inverness and Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.