NICOLA Sturgeon has warned of “tough decisions” for the NHS as the country adapts to an ageing population by shifting money away from hospitals to GPs and community care.
The First Minister used her closing speech at the SNP conference to announce an extra £500m investment in GP practices and health centres by 2021.
But she added: “To make our NHS fit for the future we must reform as well as invest. That will involve tough decisions - but the challenge of an ageing population demands it. The NHS of the future must be built on a real shift from acute care to primary and community care.”
After months of criticism that she has been too focused on the constitution, Ms Sturgeon also announced two major policies designed to improve the lives of children.
Fighting back tears as she spoke of the high death rate and incarceration rates of those who had been through the care system, she announced a root and branch review of how Scotland treats looked after children.
“If we are to live up to our ambition to be a truly inclusive country, we have a particular duty to those most in need. We have to get it right for every child,” she said.
She also announced a national consultation on flexible childcare giving parents - not councils - the decision on which nursery or childminder to use. The move could see funding bypass councils and go straight to a parental childcare accounts to buy the best places.
A manifesto promise of Scandinavian-style baby boxes containing nappies, blankets and other essentials for newborns would be piloted from January 1 next year, she said.
The conference included an emotional appearance by the mother and sister of murdered waiter Surjit Singh Chhokkar, who had to endure a 17-year wait before his killer was jailed.
Ronnie Coulter, who had been acquitted in 1999 after a botched prosecution tainted by “institutional racism”, was found guilty of the murder earlier this month in a retrial made possible by a change to the double jeopardy laws under the SNP government.
Accompanied by their lawyer Aamer Anwar, Gurdev Kaur Chhokar and her daughter Manjit Sangha, were applauded as they stood on the main stage on Saturday.
Mr Anwar said: “On so many occasions I watched a mother and father whose hearts were broken, with no tears left to shed. Throughout this period the SNP was unrelenting and unconditional in its support for the Chhokar family."
The conference passed a motion welcoming the new double jeopardy laws and expressing the hope that Coulter’s conviction would “finally give the family the peace they deserve”.
Delegates also overwhelmingly supported the decriminalisation of cannabis for medicinal purposes, and urged Westminster to devolve the required drugs powers to Holyrood.
Laura Brennan-Whitefield, who has had multiple sclerosis nine years, said it was “compassion and common sense,” adding: “I know what it is to suffer pain, and be in no doubt, if it came to it I would not hesitate to ease that pain in any way I could. That is a natural instinct.”
There was a narrow vote in favour of a motion calling on the Scottish Government to give state schools the same charitable status that lets private schools qualify for tax breaks.
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