Alex Cole-Hamilton comments on Forth Road Bridge delay
Following reports that the opening of the new Forth Road Bridge is set to be delayed, Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP for Edinburgh Western Alex Cole-Hamilton said:
“The Parliament was told as recently as March that the new bridge would finish on time and on budget. Persistent rumours of delays were dismissed as scaremongering by the SNP throughout the election campaign in April and May. Those assurances turned out to be about as robust as a worn out truss end link.
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Alex Cole-Hamilton: NHS professionals should have freedom to do their jobs
Following the announcement of a review of NHS targets, Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesman Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:
"We know that in some cases, targets can lead to power being taken away from clinicians and getting in the way of the most effective treatments. We all want to see our health services improve but it is far from clear that every target helps boost our NHS. Targets are part of the picture but they must not be the be all and end all.
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Alex Cole-Hamilton: progress on psychological therapies has stalled
Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesman Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP today warned that progress towards cutting waiting times for psychological therapies has stalled as new statistics showed hundreds of Scots have been forced to wait more than a year for treatment.
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Alex Cole-Hamilton: NHS short of key staff
Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesman Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP today said that nine years of SNP government has left the NHS short of key staff as new figures on workforce statistics were published this morning.
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Alex Cole-Hamilton: more work needed to cut cancelled operations
Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesman Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP today said health boards must get the support they need to carry out operations on time as new figures revealed 467 patients across Scotland had their operations cancelled for non-clinical or capacity reasons last month.
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Alex Cole-Hamilton: we cannot leave children stranded on mental health waiting lists
Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton said we cannot leave children stranded on waiting lists for mental health services as new figures showed almost 100 children in Lothian had been waiting more than a year for treatment and were still to be seen by specialists as of March 2016.
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Alex Cole-Hamilton calls for urgent boost to cancer support services
Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesman Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP today called on SNP Ministers to boost support services for people receiving treatment for cancer.
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Lib Dems call for action on homes for social rent
Scottish Liberal Democrats today called on SNP Ministers to deliver more homes for social rent as a research from Shelter found more than 1 million (53%) 18-44 year-olds in Scotland say housing problems are forcing them to put their lives on hold.
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Alex Cole-Hamilton: mental health a crucial element of maternal wellbeing
Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesman Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP today said Scottish Government plans to provide pregnant women with vitamins miss a crucial part of the maternal health jigsaw as he called for a step change in perinatal mental health services.
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Alex Cole-Hamilton calls for urgent statement on mental health unit staff shortages
Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton today called for an urgent statement from the new mental health minister after a report from the Mental Welfare Commission revealed that one third of the beds at a specialist mental health unit for children are empty due to staff shortages.
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