The State of the NHS

That the Parliament commends the NHS Scotland staff who work tirelessly under increasing pressure to deliver high quality care to patients; is concerned by recent statistics that show that accident and emergency waiting time targets are being missed, the number of patients delayed over four weeks increased by 106% between October 2013 and October 2014, the number of bed days increased by 22% to 154,588 between July to September 2013 and July to September 2014 and that the BMA suggests that consultant vacancies are almost double the official figure; notes the concerns of staff regarding the ongoing scandal of 15-minute social care visits, falling standards and a race to the bottom in quality, wages and conditions, and calls on the Scottish Government to conduct a full-scale review of the NHS, as supported by the Royal College of Nursing, to address the broad range of pressures being identified in all areas of the NHS by staff and patients and to build a health service that meets the demands and needs of the 21st century.