HEALTH Secretary Jeane Freeman has said Scotland’s label of the “sick man of Europe” has become unwarranted.
She dismissed the tag, saying the country has made strides to improve public health. Freeman conceded more had to be done to improve health in the most deprived areas but said the burden should not fall solely on the health service.
Scotland earned the label due to higher mortality rates and lower life expectancy than its European neighbours.
In response to a question from Tory MSP Brian Whittle on Scotland’s “sick man” status during an evidence session of the Health and Sport Committee, Freeman said: “I think that’s increasingly unfair actually. While we’re nowhere near where we want to be, I think we’ve seen significant improvements. I think the tag is unwarranted.”
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 The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.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