MSP: Ambulance cover

Jun 6 2008 by Dr Richard Simpson

I HAVE been following the letters and articles over the last few months in the Perthshire Advertiser on the issue of Meals on Wheels.

Coming from a background as a GP, the health benefits of a hot meal are well documented. But I feel that the psychological and social benefits of a Meals on Wheels service are being overlooked.

Some of our older people can be cooped up at home for hours on end with no company other than their television, so I would hope that Perth and Kinross Council consider the fact that regular contact with other people is a massive advantage.

I am becoming increasingly frustrated at the local council and their apparent desire to target the most vulnerable people in our society. Meals on Wheels is merely one issue and every time I pick up the Perthshire Advertiser there seems to be another example – weekly charges for community alarm services and the cutting of grants for talking books for the visually impaired. Where will it stop? The most vulnerable deserve better and I am eager to hear from you if you are affected by these cut-backs.

Returning to Parliament, it has been a busy few weeks with many debates and discussions on health related matters. As Shadow Public Health Minister I am heavily involved in these matters and I thought it would be useful to keep you updated on my work.

Last week, my colleague Margaret Curran MSP called for a debate on Ambulance Provision in Scotland and I was very keen to take part.

Pressure from the SNP Government on the ambulance service to meet efficiency targets is threatening emergency ambulance provision in Scotland and the service is failing to ensure emergency frontline shifts are covered by paramedics.

Our ambulance service is essential to ensure public safety. It is vital that every core ambulance shift is covered across Perthshire and other areas. The SNP are already planning spending increases in improving healthcare in Scotland which are considerably less than their counterparts in England and Wales.

Heaping more cuts on top of lower spending will only increase the pressure on the Scottish Ambulance Service to breaking point.

These cuts to services that help the most vulnerable in our society are deeply worrying and I, along with my colleagues in the Labour Party, will be standing up to ensure that the more helpless in society are better protected.