Patient Care

That the Parliament believes that the Scottish Government’s budget decisions are impacting negatively on patient care; notes with concern that the number of nurses and midwives is at its lowest since 2005, an assessment that is shared by the Royal College of Nursing; further notes with concern warnings from unions that cutbacks in the Scottish Ambulance Service are leading to ambulance staff attending emergency calls on their own and shifts not being covered; notes reports of patients going without basic provisions, such as blankets, and inspections that reveal significant failures in patient care; praises the hard work of NHS staff across Scotland, and calls on the newly-appointed Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing to support the efforts of NHS staff by making a clear commitment to prioritise patient care ahead of the campaign to separate Scotland from the rest of the UK.