By Lucy Ashton
Responding to figures published by the National Records today which show the number of years people in Scotland can expect to live in good health has fallen again, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “It makes me profoundly sad to think that people are getting to enjoy fewer years of healthy life that they used to.
“Complex health needs are on the rise, and persistent issues with alcohol and obesity are not being tackled anywhere near fast enough.
“The devastation of Covid-19 and the failure to turn the corner on rising drugs deaths has also played a significant role.
“These are all areas where government disinterest and neglect has played a significant role in us finding ourselves in this position.
“Scottish Liberal Democrats would prioritise investment in preventative health care and reform to drug and alcohol policy to tackle these huge challenges.”
Meanwhile, Alex Cole-Hamilton has today challenged the First Minister after discovering that that fewer than 1% of long Covid sufferers have been referred to the vital support service offered by Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed this morning that 100,000 people are currently suffering long Covid in Scotland. That’s on top of the thousands of Scots who have either recovered or have yet to be diagnosed.
However, questions from Mr Cole-Hamilton have uncovered that just 1,157 referrals have been made to the vital service since it went live in April last year. Despite this, the First Minister told Parliament “there is no need to intervene” before only outlining existing Scottish Government policy.
Mr Cole-Hamilton told the First Minister: “I’ve received a written parliamentary answer showing that fewer than 1% of sufferers have been referred to the long Covid support service offered by Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland, since it was announced by the First Minister a year ago.
“This is the principal government-funded service to help people with this debilitating condition.
“I know that Chest and Heart and Stroke are desperate to help more sufferers, but the government have not established the care pathways to get people to this vital service.
“Will the First Minister intervene to sort this out?”