Health
By building capacity and trusting staff we have a programme which can rescue the National Health Service from a downward spiral.
Choosing to Rescue the NHS by Trusting Staff and building Capacity. A Nurse Tells us how Things have changed in this new Era
Watch as Anna describes how her job as a nurse has significantly improved since Scotland became independent. With solid policy Common Weal has created a fictional character to demonstrate how Scotland's NHS could create a better environment for staff, provide better care and lower waiting times. While watching think about how these changes could improve your life.
Anna's story may be fictional for now but reforming the NHS is essential. The reason that the NHS is so loved, is the fact that it works and when it works it saves lives. Making the NHS work once more is central to our plan to get Scotland #Sorted.
Some Health Related Reports
Food in a Common Weal Scotland ↗
The dietary gap between rich and poor in Scotland is large and, if anything, widening. Radical land reform could help feed Scotland in a healthier and more sustainable way.
All of Our Futures↗
"Healthy life expectancy" is both lower and rising slower than overall life expectancy. This means that while we're living longer, we can expect to spend more of our final years in a state of ill health. This gap is even wider in poorer communities than in richer ones. Unless more is done to close this gap we face people being forced to work despite ill health or being forced out of the workplace before they want to or can afford to retire.
Good Houses for All↗
Scotland's small, cold, expensive and inefficient houses are making us sick. This is even worse in the private rented sector where exploitation and mismanagement of houses by landlords is at a critical level. Everyone in Scotland deserves a warm, affordable home. This plan is how we build them.
“National Conversation” to Inform A New Dementia Strategy↗
Scotland recently called for views on its dementia strategy. Our Care Reform Group responded with the view that this "conversation" is the latest of many over recent years and that many of the lessons and points raised in previous rounds of consultation have not yet been implemented.
Scotland Against PPP↗
For decades Scotland has over relied on Public Private Partnership schemes like PFI, NPD and MIM to deliver public infrastructure like schools and hospitals. These schemes are expensive (sometimes providing one hospital for the price of three or more) and lead to billions of pounds being siphoned out of Scotland and into shareholder profits or tax havens.
Anna's Story
Hi! I’m Anna, and I’m a nurse working in Scotland’s National Health Service.
I used to work in the A&E department at the General Hospital, which was always so busy. People would wait for many hours to be seen as a last resort. They couldn’t get an appointment anywhere else! It was exhausting.
Many of my colleagues left back then because it was just too much pressure, and they were barely earning enough to get by.
Now I love my job at the new local hospital, providing high quality healthcare right on people’s doorstep. I can really get to know the community I work in and see how our investments in health are benefitting people.
The network of new local and cottage hospitals means that my patients don’t need to travel so far, and more beds means more people have the chance at a better recovery.
I can treat people more quickly now too, as we’re all trusted to provide the best treatment to our patients. We can solve any problems as they come up, without having to go through endless paperwork and management. A Statement of Subsidiarity protects the integrity of my job, and now the job is much less stressful, and I can see my future staying in the health service until retirement.
There are so many opportunities for development and I’m looking forward to seeing where extra training and experiences will take my career. Some of my old colleagues are even coming back to the health now that our pay and conditions have greatly improved.