We’ll slash pointless NHS pen pushers to save £1bn, say Tories

SCOTS Tory plans to drastically cut non-medical staff on the NHS could save £1billion over the next Holyrood parliament, as ambitious plans to tackle “pointless pen pushers” are unveiled.

- BY DOUGLAS DICKIE

The party has vowed to cut the number of senior management positions by a third and invest the savings in primary care and mental health services.

Setting out its proposal less than two months from the Scottish election, the party said it wants to make the NHS “leaner and more effective” through restructuring and natural turnover.

It is understood that cutting non-medical staff by just 1% could free up £33million for frontline services.

Scottish Conservative public health spokesman Brian Whittle said the NHS had become “bloated with bureaucracy” after “nearly two decades of SNP mismanagement”. He added: “The priority in our NHS should be treating patients, not expanding an army of pointless pen pushers.