Copyright scotsman
If you think children are spending more time sitting around, you are right. Children now spend up to 5.2 hours in sedentary leisure activities at weekends -- glued to a tablet or console to you and me — a time that has been steadily increasing since 2013. But adults are even worse at 6.4 hours – and we are becoming unhealthier in our habits in other ways as well. Although there has been a downward trend in smoking, vaping and e-cigarette use is increasing, while just over one in ten adults ate the recommended five or more portions of fruit and veg a day, compared to previous figures which saw between a fifth and a quarter eat the recommended amount. And Scots are suffering as a result. The proportion of adults describing their health as “good/very good” is among the lowest since 2008. Nearly a third of Scots are obese, compared to around a quarter in 2008, and the proportion of adults with diabetes is at its highest on record. At a time when scientists are reversing blindness with microchips and restoring voices with AI, the latest Scottish Health Survey is like peering in the rear view mirror. Analogue John may be struggling to produce an NHS app, but these figures show that the SNP government hasn’t even mastered the landline. Back in 2008, it was news to no one that eating healthily and doing exercise was good for you. Yet after nearly two decades of the SNP, Scotland’s health is going in the wrong direction. The UK Labour government has already announced plans to end buy-one-get-one-free offers on junk food (after 18 years of chewing the fat, the SNP has finally said it will follow suit.) But while supermarkets can encourage healthier eating, the fact remains that we can all find the booze aisle if we want to. Making a conscious decision to pursue a healthier lifestyle isn’t easy – and often it comes from a difficult but necessary conversation with a GP. Here, though, the SNP has not just been incompetent but destructive. For years, the Royal College of General Practitioners has called on the SNP to direct at least 11 percent of the NHS budget into primary care to meet the populations’ needs. Yet in Scotland, spending on core general practice has dropped to only 6.25 percent of the total NHS budget. And this affects the poorest the most, who are most likely to suffer from health inequalities but least able to invest in their health. Half of smokers, who disproportionately come from deprived areas, actively want to quit, yet the SNP government has slashed funding for smoking cessation programmes. Ensuring that people stay healthier for longer is not just about social justice but in the interests of us all. As early as 2007 the watchdog Audit Scotland warned that although the NHS was re-designing to cope with an ageing population, there was no evidence of a shift of resources from hospitals to community care. Instead under the SNP the opposite has happened. Scottish Labour will restore the family doctor and ensure that anyone who wants to improve their health is equipped to do so at the earliest opportunity. There is no room for complacency when it comes to health – or in government too.
