Enough with the 'postcode lottery' for cancer drugs, Holyrood needs to sort this.
My sister-in-law down in Ayrshire was diagnosed with breast cancer last year. She was told the latest targeted therapy drug wasn't available on the NHS there, but it was for folk in Glasgow. Had to fight tooth and nail, and honestly, it felt like luck of the draw whether you got the best treatment based on where you lived. It’s frankly infuriating that this still happens in 2024.
This isn't just about feeling sorry for one person. It points to a bigger issue with how treatments are approved and distributed across Scotland. We need a single, national standard for approving and funding cutting-edge medicines, especially for life-threatening conditions like cancer. No more postcode lotteries. Decisions should be based on clinical need and effectiveness, not where you happen to be registered with a GP.
Time to Ditch Westminster's Farming Rules
What's the point of Scotland having its own government if we can't even decide how to run our own farms, I mean come on, we're still stuck with rules made in Westminster that don't take into account our own unique landscape and needs.
We need to take control of our own agricultural sector, and that means making our own decisions on things like subsidies, crop rotation, and animal welfare, not just blindly following what England does. I've seen it time and time again in the whisky industry, where we're forced to adapt to rules that are made with English farms in mind, not Scottish ones.
Our farmers are some of the best in the world, but they're being held back by bureaucracy and red tape, it's time we cut them loose and let them get on with what they do best, which is producing top quality food and drink.
What do you think?
Vote on individual policies, adapt them, or write your own alternative. Good ideas should be tested.