MAJOR STEP TOWARDS NEW ERA OF DEMOCRACY IN NHS SCOTLAND

MAJOR STEP TOWARDS NEW ERA OF DEMOCRACY IN NHS SCOTLAND

NOMINATIONS OPEN FOR PILOT NHS BOARD ELECTIONS

16 AND 17 YEARS OLDS WILL HAVE RIGHT TO VOTE, IN UK FIRST

Nominations have opened today for candidates wishing to stand in the first direct elections to NHS boards in Scotland. Elections are set to begin next month for 12 places on the board of NHS Fife and 10 places on NHS Dumfries and Galloway board. Results will be announced on 10 June 2010.

The elections will see a majority of board members directly elected by the public.

For the first time in a Scottish or UK election, 16 and 17 years olds will have the right to cast their ballot.

Tricia Marwick, SNP MSP for Central Fife, welcomed the opening of nominations as a significant step towards greater democratisation of the NHS, saying:

“I am very pleased that the citizens of Fife will be among the first in Scotland to be able to participate in direct elections to NHS boards and I congratulate NHS Fife and NHS Dumfries and Galloway on the enthusiasm with which they have embraced this new era of democracy.

“After a period when patients and the public had come to feel increasingly disconnected from decision-making processes in the NHS, the SNP government has made it a priority put the people right back at the heart of the decisions that are taken about their local health services.

“Directly electing members of the public to their NHS board is the next step in the creation of a genuinely mutual NHS, in which local people and communities are co-owners of their health care and health services.

“I’m particularly delighted that young people will be able to participate in these elections. It has long been SNP policy to give voting rights to 16 and 17 years olds, and in these pilot elections young people will have the chance to make their voices heard.

“I will be strongly encouraging all of my constituents in Central Fife, and electors of all ages right across Fife and Dumfries and Galloway, to take advantage of this historic opportunity to play their part in bringing democracy and local accountability to their NHS.”