SCOTTISH Labour’s deputy leader has suggested the Scottish Government should follow Wes Streeting’s plans for heavier involvement of the private sector in healthcare.
Jackie Baillie was interviewed on BBC Radio Scotland on Monday on the back of Labour’s landslide General Election win and was asked about whether she would like to see the Scottish Government adopt some of the changes to the health service that the UK Health Secretary has put forward.
Streeting has vowed to go further than Tony Blair in making use of the private sector in a bid to ease NHS pressures.
While she stressed the private sector in Scotland does not have the same capacity as it does in England, she still said the capacity that is there should be used.
Asked if she would like to see the Scottish Government mirror Streeting's plans, she said: “Yes and I’ve had discussions with Wes Streeting about the challenges we face both in the NHS in England but also specifically the NHS in Scotland.”
Pushed on the issue, it was highlighted to Baillie that Alan Milburn – who was health secretary under Blair and regarded as one of the architects for more private involvement – was returning to advise Streeting in Cabinet role.
Baillie began to defend her position by saying the Scottish Government already uses the private sector.
She said: “Alan Milburn was a great health secretary in his time but can I say the Scottish Government already use the private sector.
“The private sector in Scotland is small. It is marginal to dealing with some of the challenges in our NHS. There’s simply not enough capacity.
“We would use the capacity that’s there, don’t get me wrong, but what I’m saying very clearly is the solution in Scotland lies within reform of the NHS.”
Baillie was further pushed on the matter with presenter Gary Robertson saying the way the private sector is used in England for healthcare already goes beyond simply using private beds to reduce waiting lists.
But Baillie continued to suggest there was no problem with pursuing Streeting’s plan.
Robertson said: “It’s not just about using the private sector in terms of private beds to bring down waiting lists, there are other ways the private sector can be involved and already are involved in the health service in England. Are you saying no to that happening in Scotland?”
Baillie replied: “No, I mean the private sector is already involved in the health service in Scotland but it simply does not have the capacity it does in England. So there needs to be different solution in Scotland that suits our circumstances.”
The SNP’s Westminster group leader Stephen Flynn – who held on to his Aberdeen South seat last week – said last month his party would bring forward a bill to protect the NHS from privatisation within 100 day of the election.
Baillie added the visit of Prime Minister Keir Starmer to Scotland on Sunday showed he wanted to be a PM “for all of the country”.
Starmer met with First Minister John Swinney but has since refused to clarify whether Scottish independence was discussed.
In an interview with Sky News, he repeatedly batted away questions about it and said: “There are clearly differences of opinion between us on some of the constitutional issues.
"But the point of this meeting was to reset the relationship in a respectful way."
An SNP spokesperson said: “Just 5 weeks ago Jackie Baillie said it was an "outright lie" that the Labour Party would open the door to increased NHS privatisation - yet here they are almost immediately changing their tune.
"In stark contrast, the SNP Scottish Government will always protect our NHS - keeping our health service in public hands and free at the point of need.
“The SNP Government has invested record levels of funding into NHS Scotland this year - now is the time for Westminster to follow suit and give our public services the financial backing that they need."
