The Scottish Health Secretary has been accused of ‘shameful’ behaviour after trying to buy tickets for Oasis’ reunion shows in the middle of an Alzhemiers discussion panel.
During the SNP conference this weekend, Neil Gray admitted he was attempting to purchase tickets for Noel and Liam’s comeback shows, after a speech from Glasgow University’s Terry Quinn on how medical advances were giving new hope in the fight against dementia.
As first reported by the Sunday Mail, Mr Gray looked up from his phone after Quinn’s speech, and said: “I’m in the queue to to buy Oasis tickets…on multiple devices. Hope is very important... that I get these tickets.”
The SNP minister then added that he was “half a world away” from the event he was attending alongside five medical experts on Saturday.
During his party’s annual conference in Edinburgh, the panel was attended by campaigners and people affected by dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie has said the Health Secretary’s lack of focus on the important issue was “shameful”.
She said: “It might have seemed like a joke to Mr Gray but this shameful incident is a painful summary of the SNP’s approach to the NHS. While patients and staff wait for meaningful action from this government, they are met with distraction and incompetence.
"Our NHS deserves better than distracted ministers and Scotland deserves a government that will act to treat patients, staff, and dignity with the respect they deserve.”
The panel, Brain Health Research: How Scotland Can Lead The World, was discussing a new drug to slow the progression of early stage Alzheimer’s disease that has been described as “game-changing”.
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It was hailed as the "beginning of the end" for Alzheimer's disease back in November 2022.
The drug, lecanemab, manufactured by Tokyo-based Eisai, slowed disease progression by 27% over 18 months when compared to patients on a placebo, during one of its trials.
Scottish authorities are still deciding whether to make it available to NHS patients in the country.
Mr Gray later insisted he was fully focussed on his role as Health Secretary. He said: ““In terms of being on the front foot with reform I think we are well down the road on that.”
The MSP for Airdrie and Shotts has been at the centre of Scottish media’s attention over the last month, after Scotland’s drug deaths soared by 12%.
Gray who is now the acting Drugs Minister alongside Jenni Minto, participated in a number of car-crash interviews, and told The Herald that Scotland was on the right track to tackling drug deaths, despite the sharp increase.
While attending his party’s conference, he was one of millions of people around Scotland and the UK who were attempting to buy tickets for the Gallagher brother’s first shows in 15 years.
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