Merger of health and social care budgets ‘a positive step’

Responding to criticism from COSLA of transferring the social care budget to the NHS, Scottish Conservative Health Spokesman Murdo Fraser said:

"Scottish Conservatives have for a long time supported the merger of the health and social care budgets as a means of delivering a faster response time to those in most need of care.

"It would also serve to reduce the number of delayed discharges, which under the SNP Government rose to worrying levels. Delayed discharges do nothing to improve the health of patients, are hugely expensive and place enormous pressure on the system – anything we can do to ease this pressure must be seen as a positive step.

"Care is a health benefit and it is only common sense that it should be part of the health budget."

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