A Tory MSP has said she would be "quite happy" if the Government had nothing to do with running the NHS.
During a Scottish Parliament debate on health, Michelle Ballantyne called the Scottish Government "hypocritical" for saying "the decisions made in the past have no impact on the present".
She then continued: "I don’t think we should use [the NHS] as a political football. In fact, as somebody who has spent a lot of time in the NHS, I would be quite happy if government had nothing to do with the running of the NHS quite frankly.
"That will never ever happen because of the money around it but it should be run by the people who know best."
SNP depute leader Keith Brown responded on Twitter, calling her comment "astonishing".
He posted: "Is this a new policy of wholesale privatisation of our NHS?"
Astonishing statement from Tory MSP, Michell Ballantine, that she doesn’t want the Government to have anything to do with the NHS! Is this a new policy of wholesale privatisation of our NHS?
— Keith Brown MSP (@KeithBrownSNP) April 3, 2019
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