This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Praise for healthcare workers
07/04/2005
Health Minister Andy Kerr has marked World Health Day by highlighting signs of recovery in Scotland's health and praising NHS staff for their hard work.
Speaking in St Andrews, Mr Kerr highlighted fewer people dying from cancer, improved mortality rates and legislation on smoking in public places.
He also called for improvements to continue across the country.
Mr Kerr said:
"We are now starting to see signs that Scotland is shedding its tag as the sick man of Europe.
"By tackling diseases such as breast cancer and Coronary Heart Disease, this year's report by the Chief Medical Officer shows that more Scots are living longer and that families are able to stay together for longer.
"NHS staff are doing a great job and helping the service make progress. We also know through the 2004 Public Attitudes to the NHS in Scotland survey that the vast majority of people who have used the NHS have been pleased with the care they have received.
"But having said that there is still much more that we need to do to drive forward reforms and improve patient care even further.
"This is a time of major challenges for NHS Scotland, seeing unprecedented investment into health, and we need to deliver real change for better health in Scotland.
"Legislation on smoking in public places, which will save hundreds of lives every year, is on its way, and we are investing heavily in tackling Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI) in our hospitals.
"We are meeting our waiting times targets but through 'Fair to All, Personal to Each' we will see even greater progress as well as better performance of NHS management.
"We are committed to improving leadership in NHS Scotland. Leadership doesn't 'just happen' - it has to be worked at and invested in and I am delighted that we now have a Leadership Development Framework in place which will be developed over the next two years.
"These are just some of the improvements I want to see made. The time is right to acknowledge some of the successes in the NHS, but staff, management and Ministers must remain focused and rise to the challenges ahead."