Day: November 3, 2022

Right Care, Right Place: Healthcare awareness campaign launched

Scots are being urged to play their part to ease pressure on the NHS this winter as an awareness campaign is launched.

Targeted advertising on TV, radio and online will encourage people to get the right care in the right place – diverting them away from busy A&E wards where appropriate.

It will make clear that – if a condition is not life-threatening – people can visit their local pharmacy, dial NHS 24 on 111, or contact their GP. It will also signpost people to the NHS Inform website which provides practical self-help guides.

Pandemic backlogs, Brexit-driven staff shortages and inflation costs have all contributed to make this the most challenging winter the NHS has ever faced.

This advertising campaign is the latest step in the £600 million winter resilience plan which is already recruiting an extra 1,000 extra staff, vaccinating the public from COVID-19 and the flu, and prioritising care for the most vulnerable.

Health Secretary Humza Yousaf visited Edinburgh’s Bangholm Medical Centre to hear experiences of how multi-disciplinary teams are already embracing the approach. He said: “I am under no illusion that this winter will be the toughest in the history of our great NHS, which is why I am pulling every lever at my disposal to help ease pressure where possible.

“This campaign will make it easier than ever to know where to go to get the right care in the right place – saving patients time and freeing up space in our emergency departments.

“It is the latest step in our £600 million resilience plan to support our NHS through the tough winter ahead, which will recruit 1,000 extra staff, vaccinate the public from COVID-19 and flu, and prioritise care for the most vulnerable.”

Peju Adeyemo, Physician Associate, at Bangholm Medical Centre said: “Physician associates are healthcare professionals with a generalist medical education, who work alongside doctors providing medical care as an integral part of the multidisciplinary team.

“We are able to alleviate pressure on GPs because we can see a broad spectrum of patients, provide holistic care and follow up. Furthermore, we are able to see more acute patients thereby freeing up time for GPs to see more chronic conditions where 15 minutes appointments may not be suitable.”

Emergency Budget Review published

Additional funding to help those most in need

Measures announced today will provide further help to those most impacted by the cost of living crisis while tackling budget pressures caused by rising inflation and economic uncertainty.

The Emergency Budget Review (EBR) for 2022-23 identifies funding of around £35 million for a range of initiatives to support people with the increased cost of living, including doubling the Fuel Insecurity Fund, doubling the Scottish Child Bridging Payment to £260 and a new £1.4 million Island Cost Crisis Emergency Fund to help island households manage higher energy costs.

Significant investment in public sector pay deals – delivering higher increases in pay for low earners – is also designed to help families and individuals deal with the cost of living crisis.

Other measures include:

  • confirming funds to local authorities to support Discretionary Housing Payments
  • establishing a Joint Taskforce with business, COSLA, local authorities and agencies to consider the differing impacts of regulation on business
  • extending energy advice to businesses by investing £300,000 to expand the services of Business Energy Scotland, while doubling the value of the SME energy efficiency Loan and Cash Back Scheme for energy efficiency to £20,000
  • new payment break options to help protect those who have agreed to repay debt through the Debt Arrangement Scheme but face unexpected increases in the cost of living

Additional savings of £615 million have been identified to enable enhanced public sector pay offers to be made while maintaining a route to complying with Ministers’ responsibility to balance the budget. They follow savings of £560 million announced on 7 September.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “There has never been a time of greater pressure on the public finances.

“The Scottish Government’s budget today is worth £1.7 billion less than when it was published last December. At the same time, demand for government support and intervention is understandably increasing while we continue to try to fund increased public sector pay claims, particularly for those on lowest incomes.

“These savings are not ones we would wish to make, but in the absence of additional funding from the UK Government, we are left with no alternative. 

“We must balance the books while prioritising funding to help families, back business, provide fair pay awards and to protect the delivery of public services. This Emergency Budget Review delivers on these objectives.”

Responding to the Ministerial Statement: Emergency Budget Review, STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer said: “No-one should underestimate the very serious economic situation in which the Scottish Government finds itself.

“By far the greatest blame lies at the door of the calamitous Tory Government at Westminster. The STUC supports the Scottish Government’s call for the UK Chancellor to get real about the need to increase, not attack, public sector funding, for the full protection of benefits and the mitigation of fuel poverty through windfall taxes.

“However, the Scottish Government’s previous failures are coming back to bite us now. Earlier this year it could have increased taxes on the better off and reformed the flawed Small Business Bonus Scheme, but it chose not to.

“Our members have no choice but to continue to take action to protect workers from the worst of the cost-of-living crisis.

“The Scottish Government’s next budget is critical. Our People’s Plan for Action, supported by the Poverty Alliance and civil society groups across Scotland, will continue to build pressure on the Government to use its tax powers in 2023 to support decent pay, reduce economic inequality and protect our vital public services.”

The Deputy First Minister’s Emergency Budget Review statement