The future of the NHS - what do the experts think?

Scotland's Health Secretary Michael Matheson does not person an enviable task arsenic helium takes implicit from caller First Minister Humza Yousaf.

Over the past fewer months I person heard grim predictions from doctors and nursing unit astir the aboriginal of the NHS.

We asked a scope of healthcare experts wherever they spot the NHS successful the adjacent decade.

Dr Chris Williams, the associated chairperson of the Royal College of General Practitioners Scotland, has been a GP for 11 years.

He says: "The pressures I enactment nether contiguous mean I look to the aboriginal with trepidation"

Dr Williams says innovations and solutions could beryllium implemented but advancement is excessively dilatory erstwhile measured against Scotland's ageing population, widening wellness inequalities and intensifying demand.

He says the RCGP remains wide that the NHS should stay escaped astatine the constituent of use.

"However, looking 10 years ahead, I would expect greater limitations connected diligent choice," helium says.

"Large swathes of the colonisation volition beryllium surviving with respective chronic conditions, truthful treatments offered connected the NHS whitethorn beryllium much restricted, with greater scrutiny of what is offered.

"Supporting these patients to unrecorded good whitethorn go a greater portion of a GPs role."

This wintertime has seen grounds numbers of radical waiting excessive lengths of clip to beryllium seen successful A&E. In the past week of December, much than 2,500 radical waited fractional a time oregon longer to beryllium dealt with, the highest level ever.

Dr Fiona Hunter, the vice seat of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine Scotland, told the BBC: "I ne'er privation to enactment different wintertime similar that, and I don't privation the patients to person to spell done different wintertime similar that wrong urgent care.

"There are patients astatine hazard wrong the exigency section and passim the hospital."

Dr Hunter says the deficiency of societal attraction beds means grounds numbers of medically acceptable patients are waiting successful infirmary which means patients are struggling to get admitted for treatment.

"We request travel done the departments truthful that we tin look aft the sickest patients who travel done the door," she says.

Dr Hunter is besides acrophobic astir the effect connected NHS staff.

"We request to halt unit leaving successful their droves, marque our unit consciousness valued, let them to travel to enactment and bash a caring occupation and permission the displacement feeling that they've made a difference," she says.

"Not consciousness that that they've had to supply "corridor care" for patients and not beryllium capable to get to the sickest patients first."

Dr Hunter says she worries for the future.

"Are determination going to beryllium much patients arriving, self-presenting astatine the beforehand doorway and obscurity to enactment them? It's a bleak outlook."

Rachel Cackett, main enforcement of the Coalition of Care and Support Providers Scotland, says however societal attraction is provided needs to beryllium radically rethought.

"Doing thing oregon not doing enough, which is astir apt the concern we're in, volition beryllium beauteous catastrophic," she says.

Ms Cackett says that immoderate radical volition request to spell into infirmary but that should not beryllium due to the fact that of a deficiency of resources successful the community.

"So we request to radically rethink however we bash that, and however we enactment with radical truthful that they person the prime and power implicit their lives to marque the decisions that they need," she says.

"But it's not conscionable astir however we determination deckchairs around.

"If we don't worth the information that these radical are doing the astir incredible, intense, sometimes rather hard jobs, past we're not going to person a societal attraction assemblage that's going to beryllium capable to determination into a nationalist attraction service.

"And we bash request reform. But we besides request to bash it from a spot of stableness and information and sustainability oregon we volition each autumn over."

Amanda McCabe, a advisor paediatric surgeon and a assembly subordinate astatine the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, says we indispensable guarantee the NHS remains escaped astatine the constituent of use.

"This is simply a lasting rule that we simply person to clasp connected to," she saysys

"It's important that the NHS is preserved - not lone successful past truthful we ne'er suffer show of its fantastic achievements to-date - but besides for the future."

She says it is important that the NHS keeps gait with the "amazing" developments happening successful healthcare.

"The consequences of not doing so, and letting the strategy autumn behind, would not beryllium bully for our society," she says.

Miss McCabe says she'd similar the NHS to beryllium a "happy place" wherever not lone the patients are taken attraction of, but besides the workers.

"There is simply a immense magnitude of goodwill successful the NHS and it's important that this isn't eroded by the pressures being enactment connected healthcare workers," she says.

"Steps indispensable beryllium taken to guarantee NHS unit are valued, nurtured, and supported."

Prof Andrew Elder, president of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, says wellness and societal attraction person changed immeasurably since 1948 erstwhile the NHS was established.

"Cradle to grave" sum present extends from pre-term infants arsenic young arsenic 22 weeks of property to adults implicit the property of 100 years, helium says.

"Organ transplant, kidney dialysis, bosom valve and coronary artery surgery, peculiar attraction babe units, successful vitro fertilisation (IVF), cataract extraction and associated replacement did not beryllium successful 1948," Prof Elder says.

"We person a myriad of caller drugs, utilized to prevent, cure and palliate illness, illness and suffering.

"We tin bash galore much tests excessively - successful 1948, X-rays were our lone imaging technique, but we present person ultrasound, CT, MRI and PET scanning."

Prof Elder says these advances are invited and determination volition beryllium galore much to come.

But aesculapian advancements besides contiguous the biggest situation for each wellness services, helium says.

"Can we truly spend to supply everything that is available, for everybody, crossed their full beingness course?

"And if we cannot, however should we determine what we tin provide?

"Although politicians volition person views, and doctors tin advise, the nationalist indispensable person a say."