Rural health ‘in crisis’ as SNP focus on central belt, Tories claim

Rural healthcare is “in crisis”, the Tories have claimed, as the party accused the SNP of focusing too heavily on the central belt.

During a campaign visit in the Scottish Borders, Scottish Tory candidate for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk John Lamont laid out his party’s plan to improve rural healthcare.

The plan included a ban on the closure of rural health care services, a review into recently closed facilities and the recruitment of 1,000 more GPs.

Health is devolved to Scotland, meaning the July 4 election will have little impact on the NHS north of the border, except for potential increases in funding where spending rises in England.

“Rural healthcare in Scotland is in crisis, with patients suffering from lengthy waiting times and difficulties accessing essential services,” Mr Lamont said.

“As usual, the SNP are fixated on Scotland’s biggest cities and the central belt at the expense of everywhere else in the country.

“They don’t focus on the top priorities of people in the Borders or other rural areas across Scotland.

“Community hospitals and vital healthcare services are under threat because of a lack of SNP investment.”

He added that every vote for his party was to “beat the SNP and get all of the attention onto the issues that really matter”.