Health & Social Care

The Scottish Government has launched a new Suicide Prevention Action Plan – setting a new goal of reducing Scotland’s suicide rate by 20 per cent by 2022.

The SNP Scottish Government will introduce a minimum unit price for alcohol in Scotland after the UK Supreme Court unanimously approved Scottish Government plans.

Free personal care for older people is one of the landmark achievements of devolution. Nearly 78,000 people over the age of 65 benefit from free personal care in Scotland.

Obesity is one of the biggest challenges facing our nation’s health. In 2010 we published a long term strategy to tackle obesity, complimented by the Obesity Route Map Action Plan, and this year we have launched a new strategy for diet and healthy weight management.

Public servants earning less than £30,000 will receive a 3 per cent increase, those earning above £30,000 will receive a 2 per cent increase and we will cap increases for those earning more than £80,000.

Scotland has made huge progress on organ donation rates in recent years and we now have the highest rate of donors per million of population of any UK country. Currently in Scotland, organ and/or tissue donation after a person’s death only occurs if they have given advance authorisation or if their nearest relative authorises on…

We will ensure that the NHS revenue budget rises by £500 million more than inflation by the end of the next parliament – 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,…

Cancer services have come a long way over the past ten years, with cancer mortality rates down 11 per cent. However, with an expected 25 per cent increase in the number of people diagnosed with cancer by 2027, we know more needs to be done.Over the next five years we will implement the new Cancer…

In February Nicola Sturgeon announced £3 million of funding to train an additional 500 advanced nurse practitioners, who will treat more people in the community and play an important role in the integrated health care of the future.

The SNP are committed to improving the lives of the thousands of people right across Scotland who suffer from chronic pain. For the last 2 years, we have made £2 million available to support chronic pain improvement, including the implementation of the new national resident pain management service.

The SNP Government has invested around £122 million in programmes to support carers.

The SNP believe that the NHS is our most important public resource and we will do everything we can to ensure that it is properly funded and protected as a public service. We will always keep Scotland’s NHS safe in public hands. Over the last five years the SNP government has protected Scotland’s health budget…

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…

The SNP will seek to ensure that the public, not-for-profit character of the NHS is protected from any impact from the TTIP agreement. Nicola Sturgeon has stated that the SNP will fight tooth and nail against any moves to privatise the NHS in Scotland by the back door. It remains our view that the most…

Mental health investment reached £1 billion for the first time this year, and we are investing £150 million over the next five years.

When the SNP took office only 85% of inpatients were seen within 18 weeks, and many more were left on hidden waiting lists. Since the SNP introduced a 12 week limit on waiting times in October 2012, over one million patients have been seen within the limit. The SNP Government has introduced weekly monitoring for…