Happy 75th birthday to the NHS

On its 75th birthday the NHS remains as important as ever to all of us. 

Our fantastic NHS staff treat more than a million people a day, dispense almost a billion prescriptions a year, and kept us safe throughout the Covid pandemic by administering more than 150 million vaccines.

However, as we mark it's 75th birthday it is growing more obvious the vast strain it is currently under.

People are struggling to get an appointment with their GP, loved ones wait in pain for hours for an ambulance, and those that cannot afford it are now often forced to turn to DIY dentistry.

Let’s be clear though, this isn’t due to strikes or inefficiency as the some might want us to believe, or a fundamental issue with the NHS’s founding principles, but the symptoms of years of mismanagement and incompetence from government.

They have overseen longer ambulance waiting times, lack of mental health coverage and targets constantly missed.

High-quality healthcare, free at the point of use, is essential for individual freedom and good health gives people the freedom to live the lives they choose. And that’s why as Liberals we have always championed the NHS. 

We were there at its founding, and helped forge this national institution on the proposals set out in the Beveridge report in 1942.

And we’re here now still fighting for those values across the country.

The next election will give us a real chance for people to judge both of Scotland's governments on their records, and our bold plans to tackle the issues facing it so it lasts for another 75 years.

The Renfrewshire Liberal Democrats are proud to be champions of the NHS and we will always fight to ensure that the care everyone receives is based on their need, not their ability to pay.