Jackie Baillie has given heartfelt thanks to local NHS staff as the health service marks its 75^th anniversary.

The National Health Service was founded on July 5^th 1948 by the then Labour government under Minister for Health, Aneurin Bevan.

Ms Baillie believes that the NHS is arguably Labour’s finest achievement but she and her Labour colleagues are concerned about the state of the health service under both Conservative and SNP governments, with waiting lists the highest recorded and an increase in the number of people paying for private treatment.

She has praised local healthcare workers across both primary and secondary health services in Dumbarton, the Vale of Leven, and Helensburgh & Lomond for their ongoing dedication to care for the people who live here.

The health service is a major employer in the local area with many people working directly within NHS facilities and others employed through the wider supply chain.

The Dumbarton constituency MSP has long fought for the future of the Vale of Leven Hospital and regularly hears from local people grateful for the hard work and caring staff who work there.

Ms Baillie continues to speak up for the Vale of Leven Hospital and its staff, pushing NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board to retain services and consider extending treatments offered locally.

She said: “The National Health Service is our nation’s proudest and most important achievements and was born from the rubble and ruin of the Second World War.

“Our NHS which Labour delivered has supported the people of Britain for 75 years and, with it, has brought longer life expectancy, greater health security and equality. This is vitally important in the local area throughout West Dunbartonshire, in particular, where many people are living in poverty.

“When the pandemic struck in 2020, the whole country was caught off guard and while Scottish and UK government ministers scrambled about in panic our gallant NHS workers stepped into the breach.

“For months, NHS nurses, doctors and porters, across our communities in Dumbarton, the Vale of Leven, Balloch, Helensburgh and Lomond including at the Vale of Leven Hospital put their lives on the line to keep people safe in the face of a terrifying and dangerous pandemic.

“While being failed on PPE, testing and tracing, these workers worked tirelessly to care for those in need. There were so many local people contacting my office worried about the impact on their families as they went about their frontline jobs.

“The heroes we relied on in our darkest of times are now being failed by two out of touch governments who are threatening the very existence of our NHS which should be free at the point of use.

“In Scotland, one in seven people are on an NHS waiting list, cancer wait times are spiralling out of control, our A&E departments are overwhelmed and delayed discharge is at a record high. Our junior doctors are considering industrial action to get the fair pay they deserve yet the SNP Government is blowing £8.5million on spin doctors focusing on health.

“On this important anniversary I want to thank the hard-working NHS staff for all they do to look after us under extremely trying circumstances. The staff at the Vale of Leven Hospital are worth their weight in gold and I often receive emails, phone calls and letters from people singing their praises. The health workers across the communities work tirelessly to care for us and, for that, they deserve our heartfelt gratitude.

“Myself and my Labour colleagues are committed to saving and renewing our NHS so that it’s fit for the future.”