ONE of Irvine’s MSPs has accused the Scottish Government of “breaking their promise to the people of North Ayrshire."

Margaret McDougall is calling for the establishment of a £100million NHS frontline fund to deliver better care for patients and ease the pressure on frontline staff.

The West Region politician insists the funding would come from Scotland’s current Barnett bonus - the UK wide formula which delivers more money for the Scottish Government to spend on public services.

She says the frontline fund would allow hospitals to move to a seven-days-a-week operation, meaning that operations could be carried out at weekends.

Mrs McDougall insists this would free up beds and reduce press on frontline NHS staff whilst giving quicker, better care.

The Labour MSP said: “The pressure on our NHS is growing every single day, we need to find a system that gives people in North Ayrshire the care they need whilst supporting hardworking NHS staff who are increasingly overstretched.

“In 2012 the SNP made a promise to the people of North Ayrshire by legally guaranteeing a right to be seen within 12 weeks. But they have broken that promise.

“That isn’t good enough, we can do better than that.

“By using the money generated by Scotland’s current Barnett bonus, we can use £100million to establish a frontline find which will ease the pressure. It would free up beds meaning quicker and better care for all patients.

“The reality is that accident, illness and tragedy do not respect a nine to five working week, but our hospitals are expected to get by with a skeleton staff at the weekend. We should be aiming higher for our NHS in the 21st century.

“A frontline fund makes sense for NHS staff and patients. The money is there to be used. The budget will be finalised in early February. It simply makes sense for the Scottish Government to work with Scottish Labour and deliver a frontline fund for people in North Ayrshire and across Scotland.”