Health Secretary accused of having ‘nothing new’ in winter preparedness plan

Health Secretary Neil Gray has responded to claims his winter preparedness plan for the health service contained “nothing new”, saying he wants to provide consistency and a year-round approach.

The Conservatives said there is “no credible plan” to address the additional pressures the health and social care sectors are expected to face over the winter.

A 32-page document was published on Tuesday, setting out the Scottish Government’s four priorities for the coming winter.

It said the Government had moved from “annual winter planning to year-round surge planning”, recognising that surges can take place at any time.

Updating MSPs, Mr Gray said NHS boards have received a real-terms budget uplift of almost 3%.

He thanked Agenda for Change staff – which includes nurses, midwives, paramedics and hospital staff – for agreeing to the Government’s £448 million pay deal.

The Health Secretary said the Government is working to reduce demand in hospitals through the Hospital at Home service.

Providing the right care at the right time has prevented more than 10,000 older people from needing hospital treatment between April and December 2023, he said.

NHS 24 now has the highest level of call handlers on record, he added, and will soon be able to take an additional 150,000 calls per year.

Scottish Conservative health spokesman Sandesh Gulhane told the Health Secretary: “There is nothing new here.

“Everything is rehashed and the spin is dizzying. Summer A&E waiting times are basically the same as winter waiting times.

“There is no credible plan here to address winter pressure.”

Dr Gulhane said he is “terrified at what winter will bring”, urging the Health Secretary to record incidents of care being delivered in inappropriate parts of hospitals such as corridors.

Mr Gray responded, saying: “The resourcing of our health service is directly linked to decisions that are taken at a UK Government level.”

He added: “He says that there is nothing new in this plan, that is because were seeking to provide consistency to systems in order to address the issues that they are facing.

“That is an ask that has been made directly to us. We are seeking to provide that consistency.

“We know what works and that is why we have this plan.”

Labour’s Carol Mochan said that over the summer delayed discharge figures had reached their highest level on record.

She said the Government’s plan included “no new money”.

Mr Gray said the NHS is still under “huge pressure” from Covid, which over the summer led to 600 beds being used.

He said: “That’s the equivalent of Wishaw General Hospital being utilised for Covid. So it serves to illustrate the year-round pressure we have.

“Which is why this is a year-round plan, it’s a surge plan rather then just purely a winter plan.”