In May of this year, Nicola Sturgeon appointed Humza Yousaf as the Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care. Since then, Scotland’s National Health Service is in crisis, Scotland’s Ambulance Service is overwhelmed, Scotland’s drug deaths are the largest since records began and Scotland’s Parliament is now being pushed to the sidelines so that Yousaf can focus on his media opportunities. Just five months into the job, the Health Secretary has proven his inability to successfully carry out the duties of the job. Is it time that the First Minister sacks him?
When Humza Yousaf was appointed Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, there were many who had reservations, especially considering his track record in previous ministerial posts. When Yousaf was appointed Minister for Transport in May of 2016, he faced calls to resign as early as November of that same year amid widespread disruption and cancellation of Scotrail services. When challenged on this, Yousaf declared he was “no transport expert” yet Sturgeon kept him on as Minister for Transport for 2 years, eventually promoting him to Cabinet Secretary for Justice where he authored the highly controversial Hate Crime Bill.
We should not now be surprised that Scotland’s National Health and Ambulance Services are in a crisis just a few short months after Mr Yousaf was appointed as the Scottish Government’s Secretary for Health and Social Care. Over the past few weeks, the Scottish Ambulance Service, in particular, has been struggling under unprecedented pressure and longer wait times, with many ambulances being stuck at A&E for hours before being able to get back on the road. As the situation worsened, 65-year-old Gerard Brown tragically lost his life after waiting 40 hours for an ambulance.
This, however, cannot be blamed entirely on the coronavirus pandemic. Professor Michael Griffin, president of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh stated that NHS Scotland has a “real workforce problem” that is causing mass staff shortages. In addition, due to what he describes as a “care home workforce crisis” it has become extremely difficult getting patients out of hospital and into social care.
Having clearly lost control of the crisis, Nicola Sturgeon announced that they will be calling in the British Army to rescue our ambulance service and prevent more unnecessary deaths. Confirming the receipt of this request for military assistance, the Ministry of Defence has sent over 100 military personnel to aid Scotland in this crisis. However, the Scottish Government is also being forced to draft in 100 paramedic students along with asking Scottish Fire and Rescue, British Red Cross and taxi drivers to provide additional assistance.
The crisis forced the Health Secretary to make the reckless comment urging Scots to “think twice” before calling an ambulance. This statement was heavily renounced by the Scottish Conservative’s shadow Health Secretary Dr Sandesh Gulhane:
"This sort of reckless messaging could put lives at risk. When people suffer conditions like heart attacks or strokes, they might think twice about calling an ambulance, which could lead to unnecessary deaths."
Dr Gulhane also asked the First Minister about the current A&E waiting times, which have been revealed to be the “worst on record”. Dr Gulhane criticised the Scottish Government for refusing to acknowledge these events as a crisis, telling Sturgeon in the debate chamber: “Wake up. Scotland’s NHS is at breaking point. This is a crisis”.
Dr Sandesh Gulhane’s expertise and track record from being an NHS General Practitioner has made him perfectly suited for the job of Shadow Health Secretary, whereas Humza Yousaf’s track record of crisis, controversy, delay and failure has shown, yet again, that the SNP are not stronger for Scotland. It is time that Nicola Sturgeon sacks her Health Secretary, Scotland deserves better.