NHS at 75: Independent Scotland can enshrine free healthcare in its constitution
Free healthcare must be at the heart of an independent Scotland’s constitution according to the Scottish Greens.
The call comes from the Party’s health spokesperson Gillian Mackay MSP on the 75th anniversary of the NHS (5th July 2023).
Ms Mackay said:
“Over the last 75 years our NHS workers have done an utterly amazing job. They have built a system that is admired and envied around the world.
“They are the heroes who go above and beyond every day. They got us through the pandemic and have been there for all of us on some of the happiest days of our lives as well as some of the worst.
“Access to healthcare should never be dependent on someone's ability to pay. Healthcare is a right, and must never be a consumer service or a commodity to be bought and sold.
“It must remain free at the point of use, not just for this generation but for every generation.
“The creeping and gradual erosion of the NHS in England is one that should concern us all. Successive governments have allowed even more of it to slip into private hands.
“With independence the Scottish Greens would put the NHS right at the heart of a Scottish constitution and safeguard its future for decades to come.
“I wish every NHS worker and their families a happy day of celebration, and thank them for everything that they have done for us.”