It is disappointing that over the course of the year, doctors have come under repeated attack on several fronts.
Their contracts are being devalued and undermined by NHS employers and now politicians are attacking the NHS pension scheme. It would appear that our political leaders perceive these to be the solution to the country’s national deficit. While this approach might deliver some savings in the short term, it will, in the longer term cause damage to patient care and the loss of doctors from the NHS as many may choose to retire early.
The NHS is nothing without its staff and right now with pending budget cuts, pressure on boards to make further savings, and staff cuts on hospital wards, doctors have less time to spend with patients and their goodwill is being pushed to breaking point.
Next year will see us surveying our members on the proposals for reform of the NHS pension scheme, and we have not ruled out a ballot for industrial action. Politicians should be wary of underestimating the strength of feeling amongst all members of the NHS pension scheme and listen to our concerns.
Maintaining a sustainable and high quality NHS in the current financial climate will require an open and informed dialogue about the true cost of delivering health services and the priorities for the allocation of NHS resources. Doctors working on the ground in both primary and secondary care are ideally placed to help the NHS provide the services that patients need. They are experts in delivering those services and must be engaged with both nationally and locally in making key decisions on where efficiencies can be made with the least impact to quality of care and patient safety.
Public Health
We in Scotland have always been progressive in tackling our public health challenges. Scotland led the way in tackling the blight of smoking on society by banning smoking in public places. The benefits of that legislation are clear for all to see.
Alcohol misuse is costing Scotland an estimated £3.6 billion a year. The cost of cheap drink is £900 for every adult in Scotland. If our politicians are serious about helping to change our Scots culture of heavy drinking, then they must support the government’s minimum pricing bill.
Sensible drinking begins with sensible pricing and I hope that minimum pricing will begin the cultural change we need to reduce the alcohol misuse epidemic in Scotland.
Tags: Scotland
“Alcohol misuse is costing Scotland a completely made-up £3.6 billion a year”