Don’t ever question my commitment to NHS, Ross warns Sturgeon

Douglas Ross has urged First Minister Nicola Sturgeon not to make “political points” out of issues with the NHS as she questioned the Tory leader’s commitment to the health service.

The pair clashed during First Minister’s Questions on Thursday, with Ms Sturgeon hitting out at Mr Ross’s previous support for scrapping the top rate of tax in the rest of the UK and calling for a similar move in Scotland.

The First Minister said such a shift in policy would give “millions of pounds” to the richest people in society instead of the health service.

Mr Ross was questioning the First Minister on the performance of the NHS in Scotland, after figures this week showed more than 5,000 people waited longer than 12 hours at A&E in August.

But Ms Sturgeon said: “It frankly beggars belief that Douglas Ross stands here today and talks about the National Health Service, because I think his concern for the National Health Service today is even less convincing than it normally is.

“Because, of course, he spent much of the last week arguing for us to take millions of pounds and put that into the pockets of the richest in our society, regardless of the impact that would have on our National Health Service.”

Mr Ross recounted his own experience with the NHS, mentioning how he was forced to drive behind an ambulance carrying his wife while she was in labour and seeing his newborn son undergo medical treatment.

“First Minister, please don’t ever question my commitment to our National Health Service,” he said.

“When it was just over a year ago I had to follow my wife in an ambulance as she gave birth, when it was just over a year ago that I had to see my infant child on oxygen and fed through a tube in Aberdeen sick kids hospital.

The First Minister said she had “enormous sympathy” for Mr Ross’s experience, but added: “I do think it is reasonable to question the commitment to the National Health Service of anybody who argues for millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money to go to cutting taxes for the richest in our society rather than be invested in the National Health Service.”

Ms Sturgeon was also questioned about a case where the turnaround time for an ambulance was longer than 13 hours.

Mr Ross said the figure had come to his party as the result of a freedom of information request, as he attacked the First Minister over NHS waiting times.

“This is critical time when an ambulance could be deployed to help other patients,” the Tory leader said, before asking what the Scottish Government planned to do about the issue.

Alluding to an announcement of a £600 million plan made by her Health Secretary this week, Ms Sturgeon said: “Of course, £45 million for the Scottish Ambulance Service was part of the winter plan that was announced – and that was about Scotland’s National Health Service.”

He said one of them, Anne Sinclair, died this summer after waiting seven months for diagnoses and five months for treatment of an aggressive form of cancer.

Mr Sarwar said: “Her last words to her son Ricky were: ‘Keep fighting, tell my story, we need to stop this happening to anyone else. I love you.'”

Ms Sturgeon said cases where the NHS falls short are “unacceptable”, but for the “overwhelming majority” it provides an “outstanding service”.

She said: “I don’t shy away from, I will never shy away from, the serious at challenges and pressures on our National Health Service.

“That is why it’s so incumbent on Government to support the National Health Service with the investment and the other forms of support that it needs.

“We will always do that for the sake of patients like Anne.”