Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today called for the Scottish Government to act swiftly to ease pressure on our health services and boost resources for the care sector, as new statistics showed more people stuck in hospital unnecessarily.

Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton today said the SNP Government must act now to revise its national drugs strategy after drug-related hospitalisations hit an all-time high.  

Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton today said the Scottish Government had reached a “shameful milestone” after the number of times the First Minister’s Treatment Time law has been breached surpassed 200,000.

Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today said that mental health services at NHS Tayside have “catastrophically” failed patients and their families, after an independent inquiry at the health board revealed frequent use of restraint, patient concerns not being taken seriously until they tried to take their own lives and delayed decision-making.

Commenting on the SNP's European election campaign launch, Scottish Liberal Democrat campaign chair Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

Speaking after the Scottish Parliament debated a Scottish Liberal Democrat motion calling for every patient for whom the 12-week it is missed to be sent a letter by the Health Secretary apologising for the Scottish Government’s failure to abide by its own law, Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

This week Scottish Liberal Democrats led a debate on the Scottish Government’s legally-binding Treatment Time Guarantee as they asked Parliament to back proposals for every patient for whom the 12-week it is missed to be sent a letter by the Health Secretary apologising for the Scottish Government’s failure to abide by its own law.

Scottish Liberal Democrat research, obtained through StepChange Debt Charity, has shown that Edinburgh Western residents are racking up large payday loans with an average of £1817 per client. This is significantly higher than the Scottish average.  

Edinburgh Western MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton recently met with developers to voice strenuous opposition to plans for a major housing development at Cammo. He  highlighted widespread local opposition to the proposed development on Cammo fields.

My wife Gill and I have been overwhelmed by the kindness of local people who expressed concern at our story and good wishes for Darcy who is back to her usual, happy and cheeky, self. It's important for us to use the attention we've had around this incident to raise awareness and get people interested with training opportunities.