Guest post by Ian Waugh: Why does Scottish Labour persist in talking down Scotland's NHS?
Because as a branch office, they take orders from their London bosses
Ian Waugh has given me permission to publish his excellent letter that appeared in today’s Herald, where he skewers “Scottish Labour” for its chronic inability to say anything remotely positive about Scotland’s Health Service, or about Scotland in general.
Coincidentally, I also received in my inbox Viceroy Murray’s “Award-winning eMagazine,” something I normally can’t bring myself to read, but made a special effort to do so today. Never one to miss an opportunity to dump on Scotland, here’s the Viceroy dissing on the local NHS:
I should probably write to the Viceroy to recommend he subscribe to Professor John Robertson’s blog, Talking Up Scotland, where John routinely demolishes the lies English Labour in Scotland regularly spouts about our NHS, ferries, schools, water, buildings, railways, etc. Here’s a recent post. But I’d probably be wasting my time.
Now, Ian’s letter.
Scottish Labour leaders seem to put a lot of effort into finding something bad to say about our NHS but somehow never seem able to find anything good.
Are they aware that, despite our difficulties in Scotland, we do actually have more GPs (and other health workers) per head of population than any of the other three home nations? And that, on the whole, our NHS workers are better paid?
Does it ever occur to them that doctors and other health care workers south of the border, who are experiencing even more pressure than our own folk, might do a Google search on “NHS Scotland” and, just possibly, what pops up are their weekly rants at FMQs, saying how bad things are up here? At which point they decide, “Oh, well, seemed like a good idea, but maybe not.” Another potential recruit lost?
I have witnessed their behaviour in Holyrood. And I have heard a former leader of Labour in Scotland - Henry McLeish - repeating a colleague’s words about it being a “branch office” of London Labour then telling us that London Labour tells Labour in Scotland “what to do and say at our own FMQs.”
Given all of that, I have to wonder whether their utterances really are their own thoughts and beliefs, or whether they are just doing what they’ve been told to do when rubbishing our NHS?
We see the same thing here in Dumfries and Galloway’s local papers, where a Labour MSP has almost weekly criticism of the local NHS. Are these his own thoughts, or is his leader in Holyrood just telling him (and MSPs all around Scotland) that “we’ve been instructed to rubbish the NHS - here’s some guidance for this week’s paper”?
Are any of them aware that “Scottish Labour” has earned, due to this acceptance of being walked over by London, the nickname of LINO (“Labour in Name Only”)?
As a former Labour voter I was at first sad to see the way Labour was changing. Now I’m angry about the way they abuse Scotland and Scotland’s Parliament; our NHS and care services; and everything else in Scotland that, despite “LINO” utterances, invariably work better than in the other 3 home nations, despite the limitations of devolution.
So: Messrs Sarwar, Baillie, et al - can you get your branch/regional offices to do some research of their own about what’s good in our NHS, instead of following the London line of rubbishing everything as a cack-handed way of getting a dig at “the SNP Scottish Government”?
Maybe find things to talk up our NHS and other services? Boost our health workers’ morale instead of talking them down? Or, if you really can only find things you don’t like, perhaps engage with the government departments concerned, or your own local health board, and help them sort things out?
Maybe then your utterances in Holyrood (and more of our MSPs in local papers) might give us good news stories and, of course, you could also take some credit for your own role in making things better?|
In a nutshell - let’s see you all pull together for Scotland. Let’s hear it for our NHS; for all our devolved services; and for Scotland in general. Just sayin’.
Ian Waugh, Dumfries & Galloway Indy Hub, Dumfries
Perhaps Labour should try making up a petition or some kind of written investigation about how GOOD Scotland's NHS is.
As a cancer patient, I could tell them about my experiences of very fast referrals, amazingly quick tests, scans & surgery, more than speedy referral to next specialist (oncologist) and the next treatment starting before I even had time to turn around!! I can't keep up with my cancer team! I can honestly say with my hand on my heart - I have NOT had to wait more than a couple of days before being seen, being treated, and always being consulted on next stage. I could do with a real holiday it's all been so quick, so thorough! And always with a view to making me well. From GP to Surgeon to Oncologist, Radiologists, Scan technicians, Blood test nurses, Chemo nurses, Immunotherapy nurses - I cannot complain AT ALL. And I KNOW this - I am not a 'one off'... I've spoken to my fellow cancer patients & they've all to a man/woman said the same - they cannot believe how efficient & timely their treatment has been.
I'm just not prepared to believe labour's nonsense about a poor NHS that is delivering poor services. I've had to use them a LOT, as Chemo has caused me a lot of side affects that I need to deal with. Never have I had to beg for assistance from the NHS! As a service user I say - poor service, untimely service, refusal of treatment, etc. is a LOAD OF OLD HOKUM! I might be persuaded that that happens occasionally. But ON THE WHOLE, it's a load of nonsense to try to make out that Scots NHS is as bad as the other three nations. IT CERTAINLY IS NOT. And they can put THAT in their labour pipes & smoke it!
"Because as a branch office, they take orders from their London bosses," to quote Leah Gunn Barrett, and to, thankfully, state that I've not suffered from such a dreadful illness as cancer; however, one of our dearest friends did so; yet, his spirit was absolutely marvellous... He simply declared that he was NOT dying from cancer; he was LIVING WITH cancer.
When someone's attitude is as powerful as that, one can only salute that person's mentality and be thankful for having such respectable examples to learn from!