ALL eyes were on Glasgow and COP26 as the deadline for world leaders to strike a deal edged ever closer.
For all the talk of sleazy Tory MPs and their cash-grabbing antics, you couldn’t pay me (and neither could any big company for that matter) to be a politician.
Imagine being at that crucial summit, tasked with reaching an agreement to help save the planet and the future of humanity.
You got David Attenborourgh with his silky voice and fancy PowerPoint presentation telling you the fate of the world is in your hands, while Greta’s on the loudhailer outside telling you to shove your blah blah blah climate conference up your arse.
The pressure must be immense. No wonder so many of our high-profile visitors have sought comfort in the sugary delights of full fat Irn-Bru.
Given the significance of the day, Nicola Sturgeon decided to stay at the conference. John Swinney was in the hotseat at FMQs.
Every party leader needs that safe pair of hands. Labour has Jackie Baillie. The SNP has John Swinney. I’m not sure if the Scottish Tories have found one yet. They better pray that Douglas "Three Jobs" Ross never has a bad internet connection.
During sombre opening exchanges, Douglas Ross asked John Swinney about the ongoing problems with ambulance waiting times.
READ MORE: 'Great news' as ambulance staff boost handed to Highlands and Islands
"For months we’ve seen tragic cases of people waiting far too long for emergency help. We heard this week of 55-year-old Richard Brown. He lost his life after waiting five hours for an ambulance.
"In his final moments, he was alone in the stairwell of his tenement building struggling to breathe.’’
In response, John Swinney offered his condolences to Mr Brown’s family and said that he shouldn’t have had to wait the length of time he did to receive emergency medical help.
He confirmed than an investigation into the circumstances around the delay had been launched.
On the specific question of ambulance waiting times – a topic that has been raised repeatedly in the chamber in recent months – the Deputy First Minister spoke of the "enormous pressures" faced by the Scottish Ambulance Service.
He said that to help combat increased demand on the service, the Scottish Government has provided investment to support and recruit more staff.
Anas Sarwar then picked up where Douglas Ross had left off and said that Mr Swinney’s answers on ambulance waiting times "were not good enough".
"They were just words, and what we need is action", he said.
"Our NHS is in crisis. Mr Brown is not the first avoidable death this winter. And if action isn’t taken, he will not be the last."
In his response, John Swinney spoke again about the increased demand on the service and cited Covid as being a contributory factor.
"I’m sorry, Deputy First Minister, Covid can’t be the cover. These are pressures that were existing in the NHS even before Covid." Mr Sarwar (above) branded the Scottish Government "out of touch" and "hopeless" saying that it had ignored the concerns of patients and NHS staff.
John Swinney (who, by this point, must have been counting down the minutes until the session was over) gave an angry rebuttal to Anas Sarwar.
"I’m afraid Mr Sarwar is absolutely in denial about the impact of Covid on our NHS. That is the problem in this exchange.
"Mr Sarwar seems to think that the challenges we face in our NHS today are somehow unique to Scotland. Every single healthcare system in the western world is facing the same problems yet, apparently, according to Mr Sarwar, the impact of Covid is irrelevant to that process."
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel