THE Scottish Pensioners’ Forum (SPF) has warned the First Minister’s plans for an NHS shake-up “will mean absolutely nothing” to those waiting for care.

The warning came after John Swinney set out his Programme for Government, promising to cut territorial NHS boards from 14 to two, and reorganise both social care and councils.

SPF chair Rose Jackson warned that “older people can’t be wheeled in at the end of the process and asked whether they approve of decisions already made.”

“They must be in the room when those decisions are taken,” she said.

“Reorganising boxes on an organisational chart will mean absolutely nothing to an older person waiting for a care package or stuck in a hospital bed because the support they need at home doesn’t exist.”

Urging the government “to be much more ambitious,” she added: “We should be talking about tackling pensioner poverty, ending ageism, creating age-friendly homes and communities, supporting unpaid carers, combatting digital exclusion and so much more.  

“Longer lives should be something Scotland celebrates and plans for, not treated as a warning sign buried somewhere in a government document.”