The Scottish government is opposed the use of public money to help the private sector compete with the NHS, a special conference was told today.

Health and Wellbeing Secretary Nicola Sturgeon also pledged that the Scottish government would take its own decisions on key issues like junior doctor recruitment if it was in the best interest of Scotland.

At the NHS Confederation's annual conference in London, Ms Sturgeon announced that she was inviting Health Ministers from across the UK and Europe to a summit in the new year focusing on tackling health inequalities.

She said:
"We believe it is sensible to deliver healthcare on the basis of collaboration and cooperation, rather than division and competition. We oppose the use of public money to help the private sector compete with the NHS.

"Just before the election, a poll showed that voters' top concern was of creeping privatisation of schools and hospitals. The Scottish public expects public money to support public services rather than the private sector. They believe that public services should be delivered by public servants.

"Our opposition to stimulating private sector competition with the NHS – at taxpayers expense – is not just based on public opinion. We reject the very idea that markets in health care are the route to improvement.

"We believe, instead, that it comes through the collective energy and ideas of committed staff, working with patients, and the communities they serve. This is why we support the idea of local, flexible health care, and why we intend to develop our Community Health Partnerships, which bridge the traditional divide between primary and secondary care, and between health and social care.

"I am committed to always doing what is best for Scotland. Not through conflict or competition, but through co-operation and collaboration. Sharing ideas and learning from best practice.

"This means working with our neighbours whenever we can, but not shirking from taking our own decisions, going down our own path, where this is in our best interests. It is already clear that such independence of thought and action will bring benefits for our people.

"On issues such as the regulation of professions, it makes good sense for Scotland to work in concert with other countries in the UK. But there will also be times when it makes sense for us to take our own decisions and plot our own direction, even where we have traditionally subscribed to a UK wide approach.

"An example is Modernising Medical Careers. We continue to support the principles of MMC, but we have also maintained a flexible and pragmatic approach to the recruitment of junior doctors within the MMC framework.

"The action we have taken in response to concerns in Scotland about the recruitment process has allowed us to create a much wider pool of talent in which to fill our vacancies and is a good example of our determination to do what's right for staff and patients.

"That determination to do what is right for Scotland will remain to the fore as we reflect on the lessons of this year's recruitment of junior doctors. We will not hesitate to do things differently in future if that is in our best interests."

On the proposed Ministerial summit, Ms Sturgeon said:
"The challenge of providing better, faster, more local and flexible access to healthcare is an ongoing one. But it is in tackling health inequalities that we in Scotland face out biggest challenge.

"I am under no illusions about the scale of the task we face and the need to keep our minds open to the best possible solutions. Wherever they come from. Whoever proves their worth. We want to learn from experiences and best practice elsewhere. We also believe that we have a great deal to offer other Governments and other healthcare systems in terms of the actions we have taken and the successes we have enjoyed so far.

"That is why I intend to invite Ministers from other governments across Europe and the UK, to come to Edinburgh in the New Year to attend a summit dedicated to sharing ideas about how we can improve health and tackle health inequalities.

"A summit where we can look at the innovative work taking place across Scotland, draw on other examples of best practice from across Western Europe and commit ourselves to take whatever action we can, as individual Governments and willing partners, to improve life chances and give the very values that underpin our systems of healthcare, the chance to make a real impact on the lives of our most disadvantaged people."