Jackie Baillie has told how ad hoc decision-making is damaging people’s mental health and well-being, as Scottish Labour release their strategy for dealing with Covid in the long term.
The party has drawn up a comprehensive document which sets out a clear agenda for combating future spikes in cases and variants.
The document which has 10 key themes aims to reduce the adverse impact caused to citizens and businesses from snap decisions made with little opportunity for scrutiny.
Almost two years into the pandemic, residents in Dumbarton constituency are still struggling to access financial support, medical treatment and assessment with the area having been subject to some of the toughest restrictions.
But Jackie Baillie, pictured above right, Dumbarton constituency MSP and Scottish Labour’s spokesperson for health, social care and Covid recovery, believes Scottish Labour’s strategy will allow people to get on with their lives while ensuring vulnerable citizens and the economy are protected.
She said: “People in this area, and indeed across Scotland, cannot live their lives waiting on changes to guidance on a week-by-week basis by the Scottish government.
“It is extremely damaging to the well-being of our citizens and our business community. It contributes to very poor mental health and anxiety which many people are already suffering from.
“Two years into the pandemic we must build resilience into public services and take steps to lay a stable foundation for our recovery.
“The 10 actions which Scottish Labour have prioritised are central to this new approach.
“In terms of vaccination, we need to get jags into the arms of people who are most vulnerable and at times and places that suit them. We should not be seeing lengthy queues, people turned away from allocated slots and a lack of information as was the experience in our area. Our plan for vaccination would address these problems.
“Testing has seen local people wait far too long for appointments or having to travel to access a PCR test. Our solution sees investment in domestic production for tests and also surge capacity so Test and Protect can minimise the chance of onward infection and curb the spread.
“We have also had issues locally where people haven’t been receiving self-isolation grants when they need them. This must be addressed and our plan sees statutory sick pay made available immediately and councils provided more support so grants can be received within days, not weeks.
“Just last week I called on the Cabinet Secretary to mobilise theatres in the Vale of Leven Hospital so they can be brought back into use to tackle long wait times. Supporting and nurturing our NHS is at the heart of our plans which also include improving pay for our care staff who deserve £15 an hour.
“Decisions need to be taken democratically and not enforced using Covid as an excuse. Scottish Labour’s strategy sets out all of these priorities and more and provides an opportunity for us to learn from this pandemic for the benefit of everyone moving forward.”
The 10 actions are:
Prioritise vaccination
- Get testing and tracing right
- Extend sick pay and self-isolation support
- Build resilience and capacity in our NHS and care services
- Pandemic-proofing schools
- A pandemic risk framework to set clear rules on managing restrictions
- Provide assurance and confidence for businesses and workers
- Transparency over decision making
- Support the effort to vaccinate the world
- Learn the lessons from the pandemic