• Davey calls for big mental health investment on visit to Mid Dunbartonshire
• Hunt owes an apology to millions of hardworking Brits after tax hikes
• McArthur to host assisted dying Q&A at Scottish Liberal Democrat conference
• Welsh Lib Dems blast Welsh Gov for failing women suffering from cancer
• “It’s time to back our GP’s”- Mid and West Wales MS Jane Dodds

Davey calls for big mental health investment on visit to Mid Dunbartonshire

Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey has called for more support for people suffering from mental ill-health on a visit to the Milngavie and Bearsden Men’s Shed.

Ed, who is visiting Scotland for the Liberal Democrats’ Conference, will be joined by Scottish Liberal Democrat Leader Alex Cole-Hamilton and Mid Dunbartonshire candidate Susan Murray.

Ed is calling for a trebling of the tax on social media giants to raise an extra £770 million for Scotland over the next five years, to fund dedicated mental health professionals in schools and GP surgeries and cut waiting times for patients.

Trebling the Digital Services Tax would raise an extra £9.5 billion for the UK over the next five years, of which £770 million would be allocated to Scotland.

Later in the day, Ed will deliver a keynote speech at the Scottish Liberal Democrat Conference in Hamilton.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey MP said:

The SNP have been too caught up in their carousel of chaos to deal with the real and serious issues people are facing like the mental health crisis.

Right across Scotland people deserve to be supported by their local health services, for too long we have seen mental health, in particular, be neglected.

That’s why Liberal Democrats are calling for a big expansion of mental health services across Scotland, funded by the social media giants who are such a big part of the problem.

Above all, we need the ongoing melodrama from the Scottish nationalists to end so the Government can focus their time on delivering for the people of Scotland, not saving their sinking ship.

Hunt owes an apology to millions of hardworking Brits after tax hikes

Analysis by the Liberal Democrats has found 6.5 million people are being dragged into a higher tax band as a result of Conservative party budgets, including 15,000 in Jeremy Hunt’s own constituency.

Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said:

Jeremy Hunt owes an apology to the millions of hardworking Brits who will be forced to pay more tax as a result of his swindling budgets.

The Conservative party is trying to take the British public for fools with this shameless attempt to erase Liz Truss’s botched budget and their unfair tax hikes.

Voters across the country and in his marginal Surrey constituency will see right through this. Jeremy Hunt cannot defend his record of soaring mortgages, rocketing food prices and crippling tax rises.

McArthur to host assisted dying Q&A at Scottish Liberal Democrat conference

As the Scottish Liberal Democrat conference gets underway in Hamilton this weekend, Liam McArthur MSP will host a Q&A session on assisted dying, following the introduction of his Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill in the Scottish Parliament earlier this year.

WHAT: Liam McArthur will be taking questions from the floor about his Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill.

WHERE: Hamilton Town House, 102 Cadzow Street, Hamilton, ML3 6HH.

WHEN: Saturday 18th May, 4:10-5pm.

Speaking ahead of the session, Mr McArthur said:

The current ban on assisted dying is failing too many terminally ill Scots at the end of life. It leaves them facing traumatic deaths that impact not just them, but those they leave behind.

My bill offers a compassionate option which is open to terminally ill, mentally competent adults who want the choice of an assisted death here in Scotland.

To ensure that option is offered safely, my bill contains robust safeguards and clear legal structures, similar to those introduced in countries such as Australia, New Zealand and the United States where assisted dying continues to enjoy strong public support.

Over the coming months in Parliament, I look forward to listening to a broad range of voices and working with stakeholders. An important part of that will be to consider the evidence for a change in the law, the wishes of dying Scots and the powerful, personal stories of those who have witnessed a bad death.

Welsh Lib Dems blast Welsh Gov for failing women suffering from cancer

This week in the Senedd, the Welsh Liberal Democrats have accused the Welsh Government of failing women suffering from cancer.

Speaking in the Siambr on Wednesday, party Leader Jane Dodds MS lamented the challenging experiences faced by many women suffering from Gynaecological cancer.

The Welsh Lib Dem leader highlighted how many women felt that their cancer symptoms had been either ignored or dismissed by medical professionals, with others reporting lengthy delays in receiving treatment.

According to a recent report from BBC Wales, the number of Gynaecological cancer patients starting treatment within the recommended 62-day time frame has worsened since it was prioritised by the Welsh Government last year.

A recent Senedd Committee Inquiry also found that women’s cancer concerns were often “dismissed, downplayed and unheard” as part of a “dangerous bias” against women when it comes to healthcare.

The Welsh Lib Dems have heavily criticised the Welsh Government for failing to tackle gender healthcare inequalities, stating that they have “failed countless women”.

Commenting, the Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds MS said:

I was ashamed and appalled to hear how so many women suffering from Gynaecological Cancer have had to deal with grave failings in our healthcare service.

Many of these cancer victims have reportedly had their worries and concerns sidelined by medical professionals who had dismissed serious symptoms that, if spotted earlier, could have resulted in a more positive outcome.

These biases present a serious threat to the health of thousands of women, we cannot allow these inequalities to take any more lives.

The Welsh Government has failed countless women by their lack of action in dealing with these biases.

These brave women and their families should not have to suffer from the indecisiveness of Welsh Labour Ministers.

It is now up to the Welsh Government to ensure that we will have a future where no woman will have to face the agonising experience of Gynaecological cancer alone.

“It’s time to back our GP’s”- Mid and West Wales MS Jane Dodds

This week in the Senedd, the Mid and West Wales MS Jane Dodds called on the Welsh Government to support struggling rural GP’s.

Sharing her experiences from a number of visits to rural general practitioners, Jane Dodds MS highlighted several issues that were affecting GP’s which included:

• An aging population (According to the Office of National Statistics, 27.8% of people living in Powys are aged 65 and over).
• A lack of available public transport options to GP practices.
• Isolation of farmers who are forced to wait for lengthy home visits.
• A dramatic fall in funding for GPs (According to the British Medical Association, chronic underfunding has led to a 40% drop in GP’s share of NHS spending).
• Issues in recruiting and retaining staff (According to a recent survey from the Royal College of General Practitioners, one in four GP’s did not expect to be in their current role in five years’ time)

Speaking in the Siambr on Wednesday, Jane Dodds MS called upon the Welsh Government to do more to address these concerns.

The Senedd member for Mid and West Wales also called for the implementation of a Rural GP Premium payment to help cover the costs of delivering care.

Commenting, Mid and West Wales MS Jane Dodds Said:

Recently, I had the privilege of visiting several general practitioners around Mid and West Wales to gather an understanding of the issues they face.

From these visits it became clear that, despite playing a vital role on the frontlines of rural healthcare, many GPs are struggling under immense pressure.

Left to tackle problems stemming from having to deal with an aging population and rural isolation on a shoe-string budget, it’s no wonder that GP’s across the region are facing the threat of closure.

Without the vital work being done by these GPs, I fear that rural Wales will face a serious health service drought.

The Welsh Government must do more to support our struggling GPs, including the immediate implementation of a Premium Payment plan to help prop up these services.