What the NHS means to MSPs Share this page Hover over a picture below to read their response... ... Powered by Cincopa <a href='http://www.cincopa.com/video-hosting'>Video Hosting for Business</a> solution.<span>NHS MSPs</span><span>We asked MSPs what the NHS meant to them</span><span>Neil Findlay</span><span>The NHS is one of our greatest ever social policy decisions. My wife (a clinical support worker) and my daughter (a weekend cleaner) both work in the NHS – I hear every day about the people who work in it going way beyond the call of duty, often under huge pressure, to help the patients they work with. </span><span>originaldate</span><span> 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AM</span><span>width</span><span> 679</span><span>height</span><span> 932</span><span>John Lamont</span><span>We often talk of the NHS as an institution but its very survival relies on the work of our doctors and nurses, like my sister-in-law, for whom the role is so much more than a job. These men and women go above and beyond the call of duty to make the NHS what it is.</span><span>flash</span><span> 16</span><span>height</span><span> 400</span><span>camerasoftware</span><span> Photoshelter http://</span><span>originaldate</span><span> 5/10/2011 8:04:23 PM</span><span>width</span><span> 600</span><span>cameramodel</span><span> Canon EOS-1D Mark II</span><span>Bruce Crawford</span><span>My family and I are hugely indebted and extremely grateful to the staff of the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh. They recently treated my very sick baby Granddaughter. Without the skill, dedication and shear professionalism of the medical staff she would not have survived. In addition the nurses were fantastic, understanding and caring. </span><span>flash</span><span> 16</span><span>height</span><span> 392</span><span>orientation</span><span> 1</span><span>camerasoftware</span><span> Photoshelter http://</span><span>originaldate</span><span> 5/9/2011 6:10:34 PM</span><span>width</span><span> 600</span><span>cameramodel</span><span> Canon EOS-1D Mark II</span><span>Mike MacKenzie</span><span>My GP is also my friend. I built his surgery. It is about the district nurse who used to nag me about smoking asking me, the first volunteer fire fighter to arrive, for a cigarette for an elderly lady who was watching her home burn to the ground. It is about the now long retired GP braving a winter gale in a small boat in the middle of the night to tend a patient. </span><span>flash</span><span> 16</span><span>height</span><span> 400</span><span>camerasoftware</span><span> Photoshelter http://</span><span>originaldate</span><span> 5/9/2011 8:49:06 PM</span><span>width</span><span> 600</span><span>cameramodel</span><span> Canon EOS-1D Mark II</span><span>Cara Hilton</span><span>When my youngest son Luca was born early at 33 weeks, the care he received in the Special Care Baby Unit in Kirkcaldy was absolutely fantastic and I am eternally grateful to all the staff who looked after him (and me!) at what was an extremely worrying and anxious time </span><span>originaldate</span><span> 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AM</span><span>width</span><span> 1316</span><span>height</span><span> 1324</span><span>Graeme Dey</span><span>We can all be guilty of not fully appreciating just what a wonderful institution the NHS is, until that is we have to turn to it. That was brought home to me last year as my father's health deteriorated over an extended period ahead of his ultimately passing away in November. My family could not be more appreciative of the care he received. </span><span>flash</span><span> 16</span><span>height</span><span> 408</span><span>camerasoftware</span><span> Photoshelter http://</span><span>originaldate</span><span> 5/7/2011 3:43:02 PM</span><span>width</span><span> 600</span><span>cameramodel</span><span> Canon EOS-1D Mark II</span><span>Colin Beattie</span><span>The NHS means everything to me. While I personally have only used the NHS on rare occasions, it’s a tremendous comfort to me to know that it’s there. My wife suffers from acute asthma and, on the rare instances she has required hospital treatment, the care we have received has been first class; we both found the nurses and doctors we dealt with to be caring and efficient. </span><span>flash</span><span> 16</span><span>height</span><span> 413</span><span>orientation</span><span> 1</span><span>camerasoftware</span><span> Photoshelter http://</span><span>originaldate</span><span> 5/9/2011 2:21:10 PM</span><span>width</span><span> 600</span><span>cameramodel</span><span> Canon EOS-1D Mark II</span><span>Margaret Mitchell</span><span>A compassionate health service, which should strive to be fit for purpose, available and accessible for every individual no matter their age or circumstances at the point of need. More specifically I've experienced first-hand how the NHS responded to the care of my elderly mother.</span><span>flash</span><span> 16</span><span>height</span><span> 400</span><span>camerasoftware</span><span> Photoshelter http://</span><span>originaldate</span><span> 5/9/2011 6:34:40 PM</span><span>width</span><span> 600</span><span>cameramodel</span><span> Canon EOS-1D Mark II</span><span>Alex Neil</span><span>Without the NHS my son wouldn’t be alive today and I wouldn’t have a lovely daughter in law and two beautiful grand daughters. As Health Secretary I saw at first hand just how much we rely on the NHS. It has its faults but it is still the best health service in the world. </span><span>originaldate</span><span> 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AM</span><span>height</span><span> 3600</span><span>width</span><span> 3300</span><span>camerasoftware</span><span> Adobe Photoshop Came</span><span>Lewis MacDonald</span><span>The National Health Service is with us, literally, from cradle to grave. My parents passed away peacefully, several years apart, in the same room with the same care and attention from staff at Insch Hospital in Aberdeenshire. Two of my sister's children were born a few steps away along the corridor. </span><span>flash</span><span> 16</span><span>height</span><span> 400</span><span>camerasoftware</span><span> Photoshelter http://</span><span>originaldate</span><span> 5/10/2011 6:48:00 PM</span><span>width</span><span> 600</span><span>cameramodel</span><span> Canon EOS-1D Mark II</span><span>Humza Yousaf</span><span>The NHS means ‘peace of mind’ to me. There is no worse feeling than when a loved one has been given bad news about their health. I've experienced this recently with a relative who is still undergoing treatment. However, after the initial shock and consternation at the news I found myself nothing but thankful that we have a national, public health service where I know he will be well taken care of.</span><span>originaldate</span><span> 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AM</span><span>height</span><span> 3300</span><span>width</span><span> 3025</span><span>orientation</span><span> 1</span><span>camerasoftware</span><span> Adobe Photoshop CS6 </span><span>Maureen Watt</span><span>The most prolonged contact with the NHS was having my first child. From group antenatal classes through to the support from the health visitor at the GP practice, the whole experience was hugely positive and every effort was made to allay the fears & concerns including first tentative steps with breastfeeding. Our group gelled so well that we met up regularly until our children started school!</span><span>originaldate</span><span> 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AM</span><span>height</span><span> 3600</span><span>width</span><span> 3300</span><span>camerasoftware</span><span> Adobe Photoshop Came</span><span>Tavish Scott</span><span>We take the professionalism and ability of nurses, doctors and medical staff for granted. We should not. People who cure us and care for us are the backbone of a service that is essential for young and old. The NHS is one of the central pillars of life that we depend on and that is why it matters.</span><span>flash</span><span> 16</span><span>height</span><span> 400</span><span>orientation</span><span> 1</span><span>camerasoftware</span><span> Photoshelter http://</span><span>originaldate</span><span> 5/10/2011 5:07:20 PM</span><span>width</span><span> 600</span><span>cameramodel</span><span> Canon EOS-1D Mark II</span><span>David Torrance</span><span>It is important that everyone in Scotland has free access to adequate healthcare in the best facilities available. The dedication and commitment of the staff, nurses, doctors and all those involved in providing a quality service, often under difficult circumstance, should not be underestimated. </span><span>flash</span><span> 16</span><span>height</span><span> 400</span><span>orientation</span><span> 1</span><span>camerasoftware</span><span> Photoshelter http://</span><span>originaldate</span><span> 5/7/2011 9:10:27 PM</span><span>width</span><span> 600</span><span>cameramodel</span><span> Canon EOS-1D Mark II</span><span>Patricia Ferguson</span><span>The NHS motivated me to get involved in politics in the first place and is still one of the issues that I feel most strongly about. I worked in the NHS for a number of years and witnessed for myself the erosion of the service under the Thatcher Government. I felt I had to do something about that and joined the Labour Party. </span><span>flash</span><span> 16</span><span>height</span><span> 400</span><span>orientation</span><span> 1</span><span>camerasoftware</span><span> Photoshelter http://</span><span>originaldate</span><span> 5/10/2011 8:49:04 PM</span><span>width</span><span> 600</span><span>cameramodel</span><span> Canon EOS-1D Mark II</span><span>Dave Stewart</span><span>Our youngest son, Liam, who was only a few months old, took severely ill. We called the emergency services and the paramedics arrived quickly and took Liam to A&E at Raigmore hospital in Inverness. The Doctors, nurses & paramedics were all first class professionals, who not only provided quality care, but also crucially support to us as parents to cope with the acute stress and anxiety.</span><span>flash</span><span> 16</span><span>height</span><span> 400</span><span>camerasoftware</span><span> Photoshelter http://</span><span>originaldate</span><span> 5/11/2011 3:23:57 PM</span><span>width</span><span> 600</span><span>cameramodel</span><span> Canon EOS-1D Mark II</span><span>Fiona Hyslop</span><span>Family. My mother was a midwife involved in early gas & air pilots at Rottenrow. My step-father was a GP and helped set up GP training at Glasgow University. I remember he would regularly go out several times a night on call. My aunt was a ward sister at Ayr Hospital and my step-brother worked as a catering manager for a time in the NHS. </span><span>originaldate</span><span> 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AM</span><span>height</span><span> 3600</span><span>width</span><span> 3300</span><span>camerasoftware</span><span> Adobe Photoshop Came</span><span>Siobhan McMahon</span><span>I had my first outpatient appointment at Monklands Hospital when I was three weeks old. I had my first operation, in relation to my disability, at Monklands, and three others. It's as a result of these operations and the fantastic care I received, especially the dedication & skills of consultants Mr Bell and Mr Campbell that I can walk - therefore the NHS means an independent life to me </span><span>originaldate</span><span> 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AM</span><span>width</span><span> 136</span><span>height</span><span> 160</span><span>Graeme Pearson</span><span>. Last year my mother died after three weeks in a general hospital. Throughout that time I witnessed first hand the care and professionalism provided by dedicated people doctors, nurse, auxiliary and cleaning staff. Their presence made a difficult time bearable. I also saw the volume of work they dealt with and the extreme pressures they faced day to day. </span><span>flash</span><span> 16</span><span>height</span><span> 201</span><span>camerasoftware</span><span> Photoshelter http://</span><span>originaldate</span><span> 5/8/2011 5:46:39 PM</span><span>width</span><span> 170</span><span>cameramodel</span><span> Canon EOS-1D Mark II</span> Holyrood Newsletters Holyrood provides comprehensive coverage of Scottish politics, offering award-winning reporting and analysis: Subscribe Read the most recent article written by - Ruth Maguire MSP: 'I'm quite emotional so lots of things will get me'.