Scottish Conservative Health Spokesman and Lothian MSP Miles Briggs has called for more to be done to support Alcohol and Drug Partnerships (ADPs), in Edinburgh and the Lothians. Continue reading Briggs: local patients waiting to long for alcohol and drug treatment
Miles Briggs MSP has lent his support to Marie Curie’s big fundraising appeal month, the Great Daffodil Appeal, at an event at Scottish Parliament recently.
Meeting with staff and volunteers from Marie Curie, the Conservative health spokesman was interested to hear about care and support provided to people living with terminal illness in Scotland.
Marie Curie supported over 8,600 people in Scotland last year through their hospices, nursing care and support services. In Miles’ Lothian constituency in addition to care provided at the Marie Curie Hospice, Edinburgh, Marie Curie Nurses made nearly 3,000 visits to people in their own homes in 2017/18.
Supporting the Great Daffodil Appeal by donating and wearing a daffodil pin in March helps Marie Curie provide vital care for people living with a terminal illness and support for their families.Generous Scots donate around £700,000 each year to the appeal.
Miles Briggs MSP said: “Marie Curie is an exceptional charity that supports thousands of Scots every year who have a terminal illness.
“This support would not be possible without all the generous donations to Marie Curie, a big proportion of which are given during the Great Daffodil Appeal in March every year.
“If you are able, please donate so that thousands of Scots who are living with a terminal illness can continue to be supported by Marie Curie.”
Susan Brown from Marie Curie said: “Thank you to Miles for his support. Behind every daffodil, there’s a story and by donating and wearing your daffodil today you’re helping us be there for more people at the end of their lives,uniting with millions who believe dying people should get the care and support they deserve.”
To find out more about the Great Daffodil Appeal visit
or call free on 0800 304 7025.
To donate £5 to Marie Curie, text DAFF to 70111
Picture: Warren Media
“The SNP / Labour run Edinburgh City Council seem to tax hard working people at any chance they get, whether that is for garden waste collection or to go to work.” – Miles Briggs MSP
Continue reading Miles Briggs: Edinburgh Council “out of touch” on SNP Car Park Tax
Lothian MSP Miles Briggs has criticised the NHS Scotland Resource Allocation Committee (NRAC) formula used by SNP Ministers to allocate funding to each health board. Continue reading Rip Off: NHS Lothian short changed £365.7 million over the last 11 years, says Briggs
Scottish Conservative Health Spokesman and Lothian MSP Miles Briggs, has hit out at SNP Ministers over waiting times for Alcohol and Drug Partnerships (ADPs) in NHS Lothian.
Latest figures from ISD Scotland, for quarter ending 30 September 2018, have revealed that only 81.6% of patients have been seen within three weeks to start their first treatment, a drop of 2.5% from 84.1% in the previous quarter ending 30th June 2018.
NHS Lothian has not met the national target of 90% of patients seen within three weeks in any of quarters over the last year, and patients are forced to wait longer for first alcohol and drug treatments at Lothian ADPs than any other health boards across Scotland.
For the latest quarter, ending 30 September 2018, Midlothian ADP had by far the lowest percentage of patients seen within three weeks for first treatment than of any ADP across Scotland, with only 61.7% of patients seen within three weeks and only 66.7% of patients seen within five weeks.
For the previous quarter, ending 30th June 2018, West Lothian ADP had the longest waiting times in Scotland for Drug and alcohol treatment, with 66.2% seen within 3 weeks and 71.6% seen within 5 weeks.
In November, the Scottish Conservatives launched their new drug strategy that would halve the number of drug deaths in 5 years and increase the number of problem drug users accessing treatment from just 40% to the UK average of 60%.
Miles Briggs, Scottish Conservative Lothian MSP, said: “These figures show that previous cuts by SNP Ministers to Alcohol and Drug partnerships have had a detrimental impact in NHS Lothian.
“Patients in Lothian are being forced to wait longer than anywhere else in Scotland for Alcohol and Drug treatment, which is completely unacceptable.
“It is critical that patients who need treatment for alcohol and drugs are not having to wait months to get the support that they need, but this is what some are having to do.
“I have written to the Scottish Government to again raise my concerns over waiting times for treatment at Lothian ADPs and asking what actions are being taken to improve waiting times.”
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Scottish GPs are still facing a crisis according to the latest figures released yesterday. Continue reading Slight increase in GP numbers “too little, too late”:
Miles Briggs MSP has said that young people in Lothian are being failed in mental health support in what is 2018 Year of the Young Person. Continue reading Lothian Children’s Mental Health Neglected in Year of the Young Person
Miles Briggs MSP has pledged his support to Pancreatic Cancer UK’s campaign demanding faster treatment for people with pancreatic cancer – three in four patients with the disease die within a year of diagnosis making it the quickest killing cancer. Continue reading 119 people in Lothian diagnosed with pancreatic cancer each year
Figures from the National Records of Scotland (NRS) have shown that the predicted number of “winter deaths” are expected to soar this winter in Lothian. Continue reading Briggs: Winter deaths expected to soar
