BMA Scotland Chairman Urges MSPs Not To Play Politics With Public Health

Main Category: Alcohol / Addiction / Illegal Drugs
Article Date: 01 Jul 2009 - 0:00 PDT

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Speaking at the Annual Conference of the British Medical Association (BMA), Dr Peter Terry, chairman of the BMA Scotland urged MSPs to put party politics aside and stand together to improve health. He also underlined the need for legislation on the price of alcohol as an effective measure to tackle Scotland's drink problem.

He said:

"Scotland's health is improving, but too slowly. In relation to alcohol abuse, we must first stop the year on year increase in alcohol related illness. The minority SNP Government has proposed some quite radical legislative suggestions to tackle this problem including a minimum unit price. In Scotland this suggestion will require the support of MSPs from the other political parties. I implore them to put party differences aside and provide that support. They, and the Scottish people they represent, must address the exponentially growing problem of alcohol related disease in all its forms and the only proven way to do that is to include legislation on the price of alcohol as part of that strategy.

Dr Terry welcomed the recently announced review of medical litigation in Scotland that will hopefully lead to a no fault compensation scheme. He said:

"The move away from the adversarial system will be beneficial to all parties and will hopefully lead to a society where doctors and the public can work together much more productively."

He also spoke of the commitment from Nicola Sturgeon, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing, that NHS Scotland will be publicly funded and publicly provided. He added: "The Cabinet Secretary should be congratulated for her continued drive to deliver on this pledge and we are happy to support this co-operative rather than a competitive model for healthcare in Scotland."

Dr Terry also welcomed the recent report from the Calman Commission and said "that either within the Union, or as an independent nation, Scotland will have a government, legislation, and priorities that will be increasingly different from the rest of the UK. This increasing autonomy will have to be reflected in all aspects of society within the UK."

- Dr Peter Terry has been Chairman of BMA Scotland since 2004 and will step down in this summer. His successor will be elected in August 2009.
- Dr Peter Terry is available for interview.

Source
BMA Scotland Public Affairs Office
14 Queen Street
Edinburgh
EH2 1LL