This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Praise for healthcare workers
07/04/2005
Health Minister Andy Kerr has marked World Health Day by
highlighting signs of recovery in Scotland's health and
praising NHS staff for their hard work.
Speaking in St Andrews, Mr Kerr highlighted fewer people
dying from cancer, improved mortality rates and legislation
on smoking in public places.
He also called for improvements to continue across the
country.
Mr Kerr said:
"We are now starting to see signs that Scotland is
shedding its tag as the sick man of Europe.
"By tackling diseases such as breast cancer and Coronary
Heart Disease, this year's report by the Chief Medical
Officer shows that more Scots are living longer and that
families are able to stay together for longer.
"NHS staff are doing a great job and helping the service
make progress. We also know through the 2004 Public
Attitudes to the NHS in Scotland survey that the vast
majority of people who have used the NHS have been pleased
with the care they have received.
"But having said that there is still much more that we
need to do to drive forward reforms and improve patient
care even further.
"This is a time of major challenges for NHS Scotland,
seeing unprecedented investment into health, and we need to
deliver real change for better health in Scotland.
"Legislation on smoking in public places, which will
save hundreds of lives every year, is on its way, and we
are investing heavily in tackling Healthcare Associated
Infection (HAI) in our hospitals.
"We are meeting our waiting times targets but through
'Fair to All, Personal to Each' we will see even greater
progress as well as better performance of NHS
management.
"We are committed to improving leadership in NHS
Scotland. Leadership doesn't 'just happen' - it has to be
worked at and invested in and I am delighted that we now
have a Leadership Development Framework in place which will
be developed over the next two years.
"These are just some of the improvements I want to see
made. The time is right to acknowledge some of the
successes in the NHS, but staff, management and Ministers
must remain focused and rise to the challenges ahead."