First Minister Alex Salmond underlined the message that the NHS will be protected under a re-elected SNP Government as he highlighted the party’s record of improving dental services, on a visit to Aberdeen Dental School.
At this election the SNP has committed to protecting Scotland’s NHS with an increase in NHS resources of over £1 billion in the next Parliament, including investment in improving cancer services through early detection and a cast-iron guarantee that the NHS will stay in public hands – rejecting Tory, Lib Dem and Labour privatisation.
Mr Salmond said:
“We have tackled the difficult issues in our NHS, protecting local services like child cancer care and neurosurgery here in Aberdeen, and addressing the serious shortage of dentists left by the previous administration by funding a new dental hospital here in Aberdeen. We have also ensured a big increase in the number of NHS dentists, and over one million new registrations with NHS dentists across Scotland.
“The SNP will protect Scotland’s NHS from UK cuts, with an additional £1 billion of resources over the next four years and £30 million of investment in early detection of cancer, saving around 300 lives a year.
“Where the other parties missed their waiting times targets in opposition, failed to meet cancer treatment times, threatened to close local services and left people without access to essential dental services the SNP has worked with the NHS to create a health service that is fit for purpose."
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The SNP today said the Tory Government and Lib Dem Ministers must heed the warning from the Chief Executive of oil firm Chevron in today's Financial Times that their tax plans endanger jobs and investment in the North Sea. Chevron has become the latest firm to speak out over the Tories windfall tax on the North Sea warning the lack of stability puts investment and jobs at risk. Candidate for Aberdeen South and North Kincardine, Maureen Watt, said the UK Government must listen and an SNP victory in the North East of Scotland would force the Tories and Lib Dems to think again. Mrs Watt said: "The UK Government's disgraceful and unthinking treatment of one of Scotland's great industries has emerged as a vital issue – and an SNP election victory on 5 May will force the Tory/Lib Dem UK coalition to reconsider their damaging proposals, which threaten offshore jobs and investment. "The chief executive of Chevron joins Valiant petroleum in warning that this tax and the way the UK Government imposes taxes without consultation on what is a very valuable industry could endanger investment and exploration. The tax changes dreamed up by the Lib Dems' Danny Alexander are totally ill-thought through and run the clear risk of diverting investment away from the North Sea. "There is nothing wrong with making taxation responsive to profitability and high oil prices, however it has to be done in a planned fashion with appropriate incentives for marginal fields and infrastructure development." Meanwhile, SNP Finance Secretary John Swinney welcomed the latest Bank of Scotland jobs survey which showed that demand for staff in the past quarter increased at its fastest pace for more than three years. Commenting Mr Swinney said: "This survey presents further signs that Scotland's economy is strengthening, and shows that the Scottish Government's robust actions to support jobs, skills and training are delivering real results. "Employment has increased in Scotland for nine months in a row, and has now also increased - compared to a year ago – by 25,000 while unemployment has fallen for the fifth consecutive month: the only nation in the UK where this sustained progress has been achieved. "Scotland has a higher employment rate and lower economic inactivity rate than the UK as a whole. "In particular, we have seen strong growth in Scotland's construction sector - where there was a 13.9 per cent increase in workforce jobs to 189,000 over the year to December 2010. This compares to a decline of 2.4 per cent in the UK as a whole over the same period.Related posts: