Q&A: Jeane Freeman on taking over the health brief

1. You were being tipped for this role from almost the day you were elected. Did it come as a surprise when it happened and how did it feel?

Over the years I’ve learned that the sensible approach is to ignore speculation and get on with the job in hand. To be asked by the First Minister to take on the responsibility of Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport is a real privilege. The NHS is our most loved institution and the opportunity to build on the work of my predecessors and make my own contribution is an honour. My personal and family background in the health service over many years has given me genuine admiration for every person who works in our NHS, whatever their job and I am looking forward to working with them to make sure we deliver sustainable, safe and quality healthcare across Scotland.

2. The NHS is our most valued public service. Does that mean it is above criticism, and where do you see flaws?

No public service is above criticism and that includes the NHS. It is a service for people and delivered by people and like other services, we do not always get everything right. Where a particular service has not delivered the high standard of care that people have a right to expect it needs to be addressed. But the overwhelming majority of interactions that take place across the health service, day in and day out, are very positive ones. So we need the perspective to recognise that and to thank the NHS staff who deliver excellent care.

But our NHS is focused every day on doing a better job and my work is to support that, address key issues that arise and work with our health and social care service to see what more we can do.

In terms of immediate challenges, we need to continue our efforts to reduce waiting times, push hard to recruit more staff in areas where there are workforce pressures, such as general practice and increase our pace in integrated health and social care. Each one of these works towards delivering a consistently high quality service and one that is resourced to meet the challenges we know lie ahead.  

3. What do you see as your main priority in the brief?

One of the successes of our health service is that more people are living longer and healthier lives. That’s good but it also brings the challenge of changing demand on the service. We need to make sure that the NHS is equipped to meet those changing demands so that we can continue to deliver the world-class compassionate care that Scotland’s NHS is known for.

The integration of health and social care, and the reforms that it is bringing, will play a significant part in enabling us to achieve that. As Health Secretary, I want to increase our pace as we drive that forward. We need to bring services into the community so that people have options closer to home, and to ensure that no one is spending time in hospital if they don’t need to be there.

4. Having a First Minister who was also a longstanding Health Secretary can be daunting for any minister, does that faze you in any way or do you see it as a benefit?

The First Minister spent more than five years as Health Secretary and I see that as an advantage because she knows how the system works, what we’re trying to do and the kind of pressures that exist. The most important thing is that we have a common vision for what we want the NHS to look like. We both want a health service that is true to the founding principle of the NHS – free at the point of need – and that is properly equipped to face the challenges of the future.

5. What lessons do you bring from the social security role into this one?

There are many similarities between our approach to social security and the health service. Most importantly, we are ensuring that the needs of the individual are taken care of in a compassionate and sensitive way. We need to make sure we listen to people, find out what they want and act on that information. That’s something we have done through the social security experience panels – getting the views of people who have used the benefits system and acting on those findings. In the NHS, we have our approach to realistic medicine, pioneered by the Chief Medical Officer Dr Catherine Calderwood. Through this we are making great strides in giving clinicians the confidence to find out what is important to the patient, and tailor treatment and care accordingly.

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6. Health is the one portfolio that before the politics kicks-in, every health spokesperson agrees on the approach. How will you try and reach across parties to get consensus?

There is a general consensus across the spectrum of the importance of the health service. Ultimately, everyone wants patients to get a good standard of care and treatment in a timely way. As I’ve said, this is achieved in the vast majority of cases but it’s in the interests of all of us to work together to ensure that we hit that standard every time.

I will always accept criticism of the NHS when it is fair and proportionate. In fact, that level of scrutiny is essential so that we know when things aren’t going right. I also know that there will of course be political differences between me and the opposition parties but that shouldn’t mean we can’t work constructively together. My approach, like my predecessors, will be to work constructively across the parties so we can continue to deliver an excellent standard of care and treatment.

7. Given two-thirds of Scots are now overweight or obese and doctors themselves have talked about their own embarrassment at tackling this with patients, what can you do to deal with what is a health time-bomb?

Obesity is a serious issue that needs to be tackled. Far too many people are facing health complications and shortened lives due to weight problems and that’s something that this government is determined to address with bold action – as we have in other areas of public health.

In early July, the Public Health Minister published our new Diet and Healthy Weight Delivery Plan. This sets out a range of measures to help people to make healthier choices, including restrictions on promoting unhealthy food and drink and more support for children and families to lose weight.

At the heart of the strategy is a commitment to halve childhood obesity by 2030. That’s an ambitious target but we have to set our sights high. As with many public health issues, health inequality is a factor, and there are countless initiatives right across government that are seeking to reduce inequalities that will have a positive impact on health.

8. Every MSP that has been in this brief, talks about the effect it has on the approach to their own health. What are your unhealthiest habits and what are you doing to address them?

I was a smoker for 42 years and quit for good last November. Stopping completely is not at all easy and from personal experience, I completely understand that it’s a difficult thing to do, particularly if you’ve been a smoker for as long as I was.

As a smoker, you know that it’s bad for you, but for me, it was a habit that had built up over the years. I finally got to the stage where I realised that giving up was the biggest single thing I could do to improve my health, and that it was entirely within my own power to do it.

I used nicotine patches, which I found very helpful, but there’s a whole host of support and information available through the NHS to help people to quit.

My advice to anyone trying to give up smoking is that you just need to keep going and believe in yourself, and remember that you will feel physically better for it. It’s a tough journey but it’s not one that you’ll regret.