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Chamber and committees

The Highlands and Islands Medical Service

  • Submitted by: David Stewart, Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour.
  • Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 November 2020
  • Motion reference: S5M-23483
  • Current status: Achieved cross-party support

That the Parliament celebrates the Highlands and Islands Medical Service, which was set up in August 1913; notes that it was established following the National Health Insurance Act 1911, which provided workers with health insurance but did not cover crofters and great swathes of the Highlands and Islands; recognises the exemplary research that was carried out by the Dewar Committee, which was chaired by Sir John Dewar and comprised of men, women, doctors, teachers and others who travelled the length and breadth of the region and whose recommendations included standardising the cost of doctors' visits regardless of distance, creating a minimum wage for doctors, funding more district nursing associations and increasing communication channels for doctors, and recognises that it was the first state-provided health service in the world and is generally considered to be the model for the NHS, which was established 35 years later.


Supported by: Alasdair Allan, Tom Arthur, Jackie Baillie, Donald Cameron, Peter Chapman, Annabelle Ewing, Mary Fee, Neil Findlay, John Finnie, Rhoda Grant, Bill Kidd, Richard Lyle, Lewis Macdonald, Ruth Maguire, Liam McArthur, Stuart McMillan, Pauline McNeill, Edward Mountain, Gail Ross, Stewart Stevenson, David Torrance