A BOLD VISION FOR NHS DELIVERY IN LANARKSHIRE
- clareadamsonmsp
- May 9
- 2 min read
CLARE ADAMSON: PROGRAMME FOR GOVERNMENT WILL DELIVER MORE NHS APPOINTMENTS
SNP MSP Clare Adamson is highlighting significant investments and reforms aimed at strengthening NHS services in Lanarkshire.
Ms Adamson, MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw, points to the need to modernise and embrace new technology as key to building capacity and resilience within the health service.
The Programme for Government, announced by First Minister John Swinney this week, outlines a comprehensive approach to enhancing healthcare delivery, focusing on reducing waiting times, expanding capacity, and improving patient access to services.
Key initiatives include:
Expansion of Services: The introduction of 100,000 additional GP appointments and 150,000 more medical procedures in the 2025–26 financial year, aimed at addressing patient demand and reducing waiting times.
Investment in Treatment Centres: The establishment of new National Treatment Centres to deliver approximately 20,000 additional orthopaedic, ophthalmology, and general surgery procedures annually, enhancing access to specialised care.
Mental Health Funding: An allocation of £120 million to NHS Boards to support improvements across a range of mental health services, including efforts to meet the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) waiting times standard nationally, with backlogs cleared by December 2025.
Delayed Discharge Reduction: Collaborative efforts with local health and social care partnerships to reduce delayed discharges, ensuring patients receive timely care in appropriate settings.
Meanwhile, NHS Lanarkshire has been chosen to pilot a new “digital front door” app aimed at cutting waiting times across Scotland. The new app is a key part of the First Minister’s plans to strengthen the NHS.
Ms Adamson said:
“This SNP Government is focused on delivering for the people of Scotland and the NHS is at the top of most Scots priority list.
“Labour’s cuts are a clear threat to public services, but the SNP is stepping-in with investment in patients and frontline staff.
“This week’s Programme for Government sets out plans to tackle waiting times, expand our National Treatment Centres, and ensure faster, fairer access to care with unprecedented levels of investment in mental health services.
“SNP Government investment has already delivered over 40,000 more appointments than planned between April last year and the end of January 2025. That is making a difference but we know we need to go further and faster with 100,000 additional GP appointments and 150,000 more medical procedures in 2025-26.
“I am pleased that the new health and social care app will be rolled out in NHS Lanarkshire. People without digital access cannot excluded. But embracing new technologies is an important way to modernise our health services - giving patients more control over their treatment.
“The SNP will always stand up for Scotland and our public services. We are on Scotland’s side and our investment and policy action shows that.”
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