HEALTH Minister Shona Robison is to deliver a keynote speech on the future of the NHS in Scotland at a summit organised to explore the pressures facing the health service.
Ms Robison will be the main speaker at the Herald-sponsored event, which will take place tonight at Glasgow's new super-hospital, the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.
The public debate, introduced by Herald editor Magnus Llewellin and chaired by the newspaper's health correspondent, Helen Puttick, will examine how health and social care services need to change, along with public aspirations and responsibilities, to care for Scotland’s growing elderly population.
It has been organised as part of the Scottish Government’s national conversation, Creating a Healthier Scotland, which is seeking views on what a healthier Scotland should look like in the next 10-15 years and how to make that vision a reality.
The Herald’s NHS: Time for Action campaign has been calling for a review of health and social care capacity as well as a national debate about the future of healthcare in Scotland.
Ms Robison said: ?“Tonight’s event is a great opportunity for people to get involved in having their say on what our health and social care services should look like in the next 10-15 years.?
“The NHS is constantly evolving and as we go forward we must develop new models of compassionate care and support fit for the 21st century which are alive to the challenges ahead and empower people to live well and independently.?
?“There is currently a real appetite for change and through events such as this, and our national conversation – Creating a Healthier Scotland – which I opened earlier this month, I want to know what really matters to people and their families when thinking about the future, and what support they need to lead healthier lives.”?
Ms Robison will be joined by the chief executive of NHS Scotland, Paul Gray, who is also the Scottish Government's director general or health and social care, and Theresa Fyffe, director of the nurses' trade union, RCN Scotland.
Ms Fyffe said she relished the chance to highlight the pressures facing frontline staff in the run up to next year's Scottish Parliament elections, which would put the Scottish Government’s record on health "under intense scrutiny".
She added: “For the Royal College of Nursing in Scotland, our over-riding concern is to ensure that action is taken now to make sure that the NHS is sustainable for current and future generations. We need a wide-ranging public debate, with people from all communities across Scotland on how and where money is invested in health services. The media, too, needs to play its part in the debate.
"We know the ‘status quo’ in health service delivery is not an option, so I’m looking forward to putting forward our thoughts on the future and hearing the views of the invited audience and the public at this summit.”
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