- Former Shadow Public Health Minister authors new paper on NHS reform
- Former GP and psychiatrist says territorial health boards should be cut from 14 to 3
- “Worst decision” was to reduce medical student intake after 2011
Reform Scotland today releases a paper written by former Labour Shadow Health Minister Richard Simpson which calls for the number of territorial health boards in Scotland to be cut from 14 to 3.
Dr Richard Simpson, in a paper for the Reform Scotland think tank, argues that there should be health boards for North Scotland, West Scotland and East Scotland, mirroring the cancer regions which he says have proven successful.
Dr Simpson also says that, as part of the change, the island health boards should be merged with their local authorities.
Elsewhere in the paper – which can be read on the think tank’s NHS2048 forum here – Dr Simpson also calls for a major shift to primary and preventative care.
Dr Richard Simpson said:
“The problems within the NHS go back long before Covid made them worse. In 2011, after a period since 1997 of improvement, the SNP government made a number of bad decisions. The worst were to reduce the medical student intake by 8% between 2011 and 2014, and to further delay the Calman Paulson Report of 2004 which proposed the establishment of a graduate entry scheme.
“We cannot go on spending more and more on the NHS without radical change. Structures are only a small part of such change. It requires a major shift to primary and preventive care whilst addressing the social determinants of ill-health.
“However, reducing the cluttered NHS landscape is important. The territorial hospital boards should be reduced to three mainland boards, matching the successful cancer regions of West, East and North, and the island boards should be merged with their local authorities.”
Chris Deerin, Director of Reform Scotland, said:
“We need a mature, constructive debate to identify and build consensus around specific measures that will help our health and care services in both the short and long term. Reform Scotland is continuing to provide a platform for that discussion to take place.
“The electorate can cope with this discussion, and former politicians such as Dr Simpson are active. The question is whether current politicians can set aside petty party differences and work together to save this vital public service.
“If we are to maintain a taxpayer-funded, free-at-the-point-of-need system up to the NHS’s centenary in 2048, reform is required in order to make the best use of the resources we have.”
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
- Reform Scotland, a charity registered in Scotland, is a public policy institute which works to promote increased economic prosperity, opportunity for all, and more effective public services. Reform Scotland is independent of political parties and any other organisations. It is funded by donations from private individuals, charitable trusts and corporate organisations. Its Director is Chris Deerin and Alison Payne is the Research Director. Both work closely with the Trustee Board, chaired by Lord McConnell, which meets regularly to review the research and policy programme.
- Reform Scotland has been inviting a wide range of practitioners, service users, politicians and others to outline the changes they think can improve and preserve our health and care services as part of its NHS2048 forum with 50 contributions and discussion events to date.
- For Reform Scotland media contact Message Matters (Andy Maciver, 07855 261 244, [email protected])