A BBC Debate Night audience member has slammed criticism of NHS Scotland as she said she said was “flabbergasted” by the difference in her experience after moving to the country from England.
Speaking on Wednesday’s programme from Dundee, the woman – who moved to Scotland from the Midlands two years ago – said she “can’t fault” the NHS in Scotland after she experienced faster waiting times for an ambulance than in England.
She made the comment whilst the panel was discussing whether the NHS was “broken” in Scotland.
📺 Audience member on #bbcdn, who moved to Scotland from England, talks about her comparative experience in the two nations and says the NHS is much better in Scotland. “Here, I can’t fault the NHS, they’re wonderful”. Not comfortable viewing for the Tories and Labour… pic.twitter.com/AEiTv6OJxy
— Olaf Stando 🌻 (@OlafSNP) October 2, 2024
She said: “I lived down in the Midlands. When an ambulance was called, it would take seven to eight hours to get to you.
“I was poorly here [the] Christmas before last, it was there within 20 minutes, and I was in A&E within 20 minutes.
“I mean, I'm flabbergasted. I've had different things happen to me in the Midlands, and I've had to wait three hours just for triage, and then they sent me home and I got infected, so I had lots of problems.
“But here, I can't fault the NHS, they're wonderful.”
Former SNP MP John Nicolson (below) said that claiming the NHS was broken is “crass” and “unhelpful”.
Speaking on the programme, he said: “I think if you're an NHS worker, you're not going to welcome that kind of description.
“Of course, the Labour Party has been government in Wales for about 100 years, and the outcomes in Wales are considerably worse than Scotland.
“Everybody knows what the challenges are – we're living much longer than we used to, and that's absolutely great. We've got a declining population, and that's not so good.
“Brexit has been disastrous for the care sector, because a lot of people who worked as carers have gone home, and that's caused a crisis, and we all know that.
“Labour is scared to talk about Brexit because they know that English voters approve of it. Scottish voters don't.”
Nicolson went on to share his own personal experience of using the NHS, saying that he had two “transformational” hip surgeries.
He added: “My mum, who died at the start of the Covid-19 outbreak, lived at home until she was 95.
“She got four daily visits from care workers paid for by a combination of the local authority and the NHS. It allowed her to stay at home.
“My friends in England can't believe that such a level of care is available.”
