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With Westminster's cuts to Scotland's budget, it is going to be a tough few years for all of us - including the NHS.
Important to blame the Tories and the Liberals - but they'll be covered by Private Healthcare.
Perhaps more important to blame New Labour and Gordon Brown for wrecking the UK economy and stuffing the spivs' and speculators' with their crazy PFI and PPP schemes.
In the short term, to illustrate that "we are all in this together" - the new SNP Government should ensure that nobody in the NHS earns more than the First Minister.
If a couple of surgeons decide to go to the States, so be it. If greed is their primary motivator, then perhaps they'll already be there?
In addition, Nicola Sturgeon should look at introducing the concept of an "approved list" for all NHS prescriptions. There are cheap generic medicines that are exactly the same as the branded equivalents - but hugely cheaper to the public purse.
As long as the list is approved and monitored by GPs there are massive savings to be made.
Sad reality is that we cannot afford to stuff the Drug Companies with funds that would be better spent on service provision.
Slainte Mhor

It is to be hoped that whichever party gains control in the election tomorrow that they pay proper attention to the NHS budget.

I have a friend who recently suffered a heart attack whilst on holiday in England and within a week was home having received the best of care. On returning home she was advised to contact her GP who would in turn contact the Cardiac Services and they would arrange for a nurse to make a home visit. The appointment was made for between 2 and 4pm on a particular day however at 2.45pm on the day of the appointment my friend was contacted by the nurse who said that due staffing difficulties she would not be able to keep the appontment.

Whilst my friend appreciates the need for budgets to be carefully looked at and managed she is dismayed to find that the same level of care does not seem to exist in Scotland.

I understand that had the heart attack occurred in Scotland she would still be waiting to have the angioplasty which was caried out within one week in England.

What is the SNP's policy for defence of the nation, if throgh independence, we split from the rest of the UK and how would it work?

Hopefully the NHS will get back to treating the sick instead of empire building and running an ever increasing administrative monster which is swallowing funding faster than all the treatment of the sick ever did. Six figure salaries which appear now to be run of the mill in public services must not only be frozen , but must be reduced, and the numbers receiving them must be reduced. There is no good reason why public service executives should earn the kind of salaries that their limited talents could not earn anywhere in the private sector if indeed they could find employment in the private sector. Only when public services get back to serving the public and not their own ends will we get our bins emptied, our roads repaired and dare I suggest it, access to a NHS dentist.

2. At 10:03am 4th May 2011, ziggyboy wrote:
Very sorry to hear baout your friend.

But you say:
"I understand that had the heart attack occurred in Scotland she would still be waiting to have the angioplasty which was caried out within one week in England."

Curious to know exactly how you "understand" that.

4. At 18:45pm 4th May 2011, kaybraes wrote:
"Six figure salaries which appear now to be run of the mill in public services must not only be frozen , but must be reduced, and the numbers receiving them must be reduced. There is no good reason why public service executives should earn the kind of salaries that their limited talents could not earn anywhere in the private sector if indeed they could find employment in the private sector."

Evidence for this?

"Only when public services get back to serving the public and not their own ends will we get our bins emptied, our roads repaired and dare I suggest it, access to a NHS dentist."

Evidence for this? 1 million more people are registered with a dentist in the last four years.

6 AMJHAJ
Correct re NHS Dentistry.
In the bad old days of New Labour and Liberal Coalition, there were queues of hundreds across the North and NE - trying to get registered with a Dentist.
4 years on and we have many more NHS dentists and some fantastic facilities.
Another major success story for the SNP.
On the £100K + salaries - way too many - and still too many layers.
Each Board used to have 4 Senior Managers (Medic, Nurse, Treasurer and Administrator). Larger Health Boards had a Chief Dentist and Pharmacist as well.
We need to get back to these less complex structures.
Most of the layers were brought in as Thatcher tried to bring in a "market" and a system where accountants ruled - pricing everything and valuing nothing.
Slainte Mhor