AUDIT Scotland’s annual report on the NHS makes predictable gloomy reading, evoking equally predictable responses from the political parties, but nothing much is going to change, because sadly our long treasured model of health care is now time-expired (“Watchdog reveals the sorry state of NHS in Scotland”, The Herald, October 26). Such a statement will no doubt evoke a hostile reaction from many readers, although it did not when I first wrote it in a letter to this paper in May, 2000. Clearly premature, it may yet prove to be prophetic.

As one who regularly listens to and watches programmes in which the problem of NHS funding comes up, I am bemused at the variety of contributors who simply say that because the NHS is a sacrosanct organisation and the British public treat it as a religion which should therefore be beyond criticism, it is not useful to discuss the subject beyond parroting the usual platitudes.

Of course politicians of all parties are unable to address the long-term problems of the NHS as they must always keep an eye on the next election or referendum, and the public must take its share of the blame for not consistently supporting the tax increases inevitably required to fund it adequately for the foreseeable future. Many economists calculate that the NHS needs a three to four per cent increase in funding every year to keep pace with demand, and even those seduced by the limitless bounty of Jeremy Corbyn’s “magic money tree” might concede that this represents an unattainable target. Indeed, the problem of long-term funding of the NHS is beyond some simple political solution, and as I have consistently argued should be based on the much more successful European models such as those seen today in France or Germany. Even with a socialist president, France was deemed in 2015 to have the best health service in Europe by one independent research centre.

Of course the immediate unthinking response of so many is to claim that this would represent “privatisation” of the National Health Service in Scotland (NHSis), comparing it to the provision of medical care in the United States or even England. However, privatisation already exists in the NHSiS, and although the SNP claims that taxpayer cash spent on private health services is only used in exceptional circumstances, independent analysis shows that this had doubled since 2000 to £82.5m by 2015, and is still increasing by 18 per cent above inflation.

Shona Robison seems to have no clear vision or strategy for implementing the changes necessary to ensure that the NHSiS can continue to provide the standard of medical care achieved in some other European countries, and endlessly comes out with mindless responses about challenges and increased funding. If the SNP was to achieve its aim of remaining in the EU, would it be prepared to adopt a model of sustainable health care provision as successfully demonstrated in many of its fellow European countries? I suspect not.

John Sinclair,

Retired consultant surgeon,

7 Bridgegait, Glasgow.

BOTH Councillor Alex Gallagher and Dr Gerald Edwards (Letters, October 27) castigate the SNP Government for its failing over the NHS in Scotland, yet the report they quote tells us that the Scottish NHS is the best-performing in the United Kingdom. What does that say about the competency of the Welsh Labour administration, or indeed the English under Jeremy Hunt? When will your correspondents complain about where the real problems that exist?

Ian McAulay,

42 Woodbank Crescent, Glasgow.

EVEN when questioned by opposition leaders in Holyrood on matters as important as the NHS, Nicola Sturgeon resorts to “them and us” politics with the rest of the UK.

As we learn seven out of eight key performance standards in the NHS Scotland were missed over the last year, let’s remember the NHS here has been devolved for almost 20 years and the SNP’s responsibility for half that period. Ms Sturgeon’s hasty comparisons with the rest of the UK are a red herring – they do nothing to support hard-pressed front-line professionals, and the vulnerable and needy in our society.

Rather than focusing on her claim that the situation in England is very fractionally worse, Ms Sturgeon would be advised to concentrate on NHS staffing – seemingly a proper workforce plan doesn’t exist to enable adequate levels of primary care to be provided.

Martin Redfern,

Woodcroft Road, Edinburgh.

I NOTE Alex Gallagher is reluctant to name the party to replace the SNP that has “a real political vision and philosophy, and treats the government of Scotland as its top priority”. He surely can’t have in mind the Scottish branch of the Labour Party, which is unable to find a leader of any stature, let alone the talent to fill the top ministerial posts in a Scottish Government.

Willie Douglas,

252 Nether Auldhouse Road, Glasgow.

ALLAN Sutherland refers to “good historic, moral, political and economic arguments” for Scotland to remain within the UK. Given the innumerable foreign wars (including the illegal Iraq disaster), the situation whereby Scotland’s share of MPs (which may be cut still further) is 59 out of 650, ensuring that Scotland will always get the governments England elects, added to the fact that Scotland has not reaped the benefit of more than 40 years of oil production and has no oil fund; and considering that while although the Scottish electorate voted overwhelmingly to remain within the EU, Scotland is on the cusp of being dragged out by the Westminster Government, I would suggest that there are plenty of very good reasons for the nation of Scotland to re-define itself and resume its place in the world as an independent country.

That can and should be achieved while maintaining close links and working responsibly, and in a spirit of friendship, respect and equality, with the other nations within these islands.

Ruth Marr,

99 Grampian Road, Stirling.

PERHAPS you should add a category to the Scottish Politician of the Year awards (“Politician of the Year nominations reflect Tory resurgence”, The Herald, October 26), namely Worst Politician of the Year. It would be an award no-one would want to win, so it might get some of the poorer-performing members to up their game just in case.

Michael Watson,

74 Wardlaw Avenue, Glasgow.