DAVID Cameron's pledge today to give England a "truly seven-day a week NHS" is set to give Scotland's own healthcare service a multi-million pound shot in the arm.
Delivering his first keynote speech following the General Election at a Midlands GP surgery that offers late night and weekend appointments, the Prime Minister will express an "unwavering commitment" to the NHS, declaring: "There is nothing that embodies the spirit of One Nation coming together - nothing that working people depend on more - than the NHS."
Investment in the NHS south of the border will increase by £8bn a year by the end of the Parliament, meaning that in Scotland the SNP Government is set to get hundreds of millions of pounds extra by 2020, which it could also spend on the NHS. The additional money is aimed at supporting the transformation of countrywide services, including an increase in the number of GPs, faster access to new drugs and treatments and a greater focus on mental health and healthy living.
Mr Cameron will say the UK Government is committed to providing the "best care and making that care available for everyone - free - wherever they are and whenever they need it".
He will say: "I believe that together - by sticking to the plan - we can become the first country in the world to deliver a truly seven-day NHS. And we must do so to protect and preserve the values of the NHS, that are so central to our national identity.
"To keep our people healthy, to look after them when they fall ill, to care for the elderly with dignity and to ensure that free healthcare is always there whenever people need it most."
He will add: "By sticking to the plan, we can and will achieve this together. A seven-day NHS, safe in our hands; for every generation to come."
The Prime Minister will also say it is a "shocking fact" that mortality rates for patients admitted to hospital on a Sunday are as much as 16 per cent higher than on a Wednesday, while the biggest numbers of seriously ill patients arrive at the weekend when hospitals are least well equipped to handle them.
The shift to seven-day a week opening will help to deliver a safer NHS and more lives saved. The Prime Minister will be clear that this is not about staff working longer hours but a more flexible approach to work patterns that will see doctors and nurses available when they are needed most.
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