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When plenary is delayed, it is wrong to have people who might have travelled from across Scotland or beyond waiting at visitorservices for ages because perhaps a dozen members are involved in a members’ business debate.
When we were tendering for that job, I went down to the site—which was just a field—and I envisioned a factory there, with people going in and out of it.
When a Health Board provides healthcare services, whether they be from permanent or modular portable buildings, the primary responsibility for ensuring the safety of staff, patients and visitors lies with the Board.
Again, it is welcome that there has been such a facility locally, as it provides employment opportunities and contributes positively to our net zero challenges. In the site’s early days—this speaks to some of the challenges that will occasionally be faced as the sector grows—there were some teething problems.
The traditional response over the past 20 years has been to throw more and more money at the health service and employ more and more staff to do things increasingly faster—waiting times used to be a maximum of 12 months; then a maximum of 26 weeks; then a maximum of 18 weeks; and now they are a maximum of 12 weeks.
They can provide a wide range of services, including non-acute in-patient services, particularly post-acute geriatric care, rehabilitation services and palliative care.
Every year, the Scottish Government is having to invest more than £700 million to mitigate the impact of Westminster policies that Scotland did not vote for, such as the bedroom tax, the rape clause and the removal of universal credit, which has plunged more people into poverty.