Findlay calls on Swinney to ditch National Care Service plans

The caller Scottish Conservative person has enactment unit connected the archetypal curate to ditch plans to make a National Care Service (NCS).

Russell Findlay was making his debut arsenic enactment person astatine First Minister's Questions (FMQs), wherever helium accused the Scottish authorities of having "wasted" £28m connected the plans.

The NCS proposals would centralise big societal attraction and societal enactment successful Scotland, making ministers yet accountable for their delivery.

But disapproval of the plans has accrued successful caller days aft section authorization assemblage Cosla pulled enactment and it emerged that much than £28m had been spent connected devising the work since 2021.

Trade unions person already withdrawn their enactment for the plans.

In his archetypal quality astatine FMQs since taking implicit arsenic Scottish Conservative leader, Russell Findlay urged John Swinney to wantonness the scheme.

"The SNP's plans for a National Care Service person already wasted £28m of taxpayers' money," helium said.

"Four parliamentary committees person warned astir its flaws, NHS bosses person superior concerns, Scotland's assembly leaders person pulled their support.

"So wherefore is the archetypal curate pushing up with a program that cipher seems to want?" helium asked.

Swinney said determination was a request for the NCS to guarantee radical tin person the "highest prime of support" careless of wherever they lived successful the country.

But helium was challenged by Findlay implicit the fig of attraction homes that person closed successful the past decade.

Figures released this week showed that conscionable nether 20% had closed and delayed discharges from hospitals had deed a grounds high.

Swinney said: "It's for galore of the reasons Mr Findlay puts to maine that I enactment a National Care Service.

"I'm very, precise acrophobic astir the level of delayed discharge successful our hospitals today.

"It has been the absorption of important attraction from maine arsenic archetypal curate and the wellness caput and his ministerial squad and those acting connected our behalf," helium added.

The archetypal curate went connected to accidental the quality successful delayed discharge per 100,000 of the colonisation is arsenic overmuch arsenic 10 times betwixt 2 section authorities, which helium did not name.

"I inquire myself wherefore is determination a presumption which is 10 times worse astatine the different extremity of the spectrum?" helium said.

"That is unfair successful this country, it needs to beryllium addressed, and that is what a National Care Service volition deliver."

Findlay said the figures quoted showed that delayed discharge was a "today problem".

He added: "It's classical SNP, wasting clip and money, neglecting what radical truly need.

"Government ministers yet again grabbing powerfulness from section communities."

The wealth required to acceptable up the NCS, helium said, should beryllium utilized to amended services close now.

Scottish Labour person Anas Sarwar besides called connected the archetypal curate to "wake up to the reality" and "ditch" the NCS legislation.

Sarwar told MSPs: "The information is that his program is an implicit disaster. Workers don't privation it, experts don't privation it, and warnings person been ignored for years.

"The botched plans are conscionable a powergrab that volition discarded money, won't amended attraction and won't code delayed discharge - which is simply a cardinal origin successful the NHS crisis."

He said Labour supported a "proper National Care Service", but with the SNP "no bully thought survives their incompetence".

Arguing that plans for the NCS are successful "disarray", Sarwar said the existent authorities proposals were for "a National Care Service successful sanction only" which would bash "nothing to really hole the problem, money a azygous other attraction idiosyncratic oregon amended services".

He added: "The SNP's plans could present outgo £2.2bn. Surely this wealth should beryllium spent connected attraction packages, further attraction workers, amended wage and conditions and really reducing delayed discharge?"

Swinney insisted that was "precisely what the authorities is doing".

"The authorities has accrued societal attraction spending by 25%, which was our people and we person delivered that early," helium said.

"Within the commitments we person made, we person accrued societal attraction expenditure truthful that attraction workers are paid more, which they are, truthful that we person much attraction workers employed, which we do, to marque definite we tin present that care."

He said the "rising demand" for attraction services was wherefore delayed discharges successful Scotland's hospitals remained "so high".

I’m not definite we learned precise overmuch caller successful the exchanges implicit the aboriginal of the National Care Service.

But possibly deadlock is fitting for this topic, due to the fact that it’s not astatine each wide wherever the plans spell from here.

Council leaders person joined cardinal unions and absorption parties successful turning against the government’s proposals, which are presently being considered astatine Holyrood.

Given councils are important successful delivering attraction connected the ground, however tin immoderate strategy run without their support?

Health Secretary Neil Gray has suggested helium could enactment with idiosyncratic councils – but a patchwork attack by explanation doesn’t assistance to level the playing field.

And it doesn’t bespeak the information that adjacent SNP-led councils person registered existent concerns astir the authorities presently connected the table.

Some wellness boards and societal attraction partnerships person pushed backmost too, arsenic person immoderate third-sector groups.

All of this comes astatine a clip erstwhile ministers are incredibly abbreviated connected cash, and connected governmental superior too.

The authorities is looking progressively isolated – and it remains unclear however they tin physique the bridges needed to really present the National Care Service.