10 June 2024
Living and working in Wales, Northern Ireland, or Scotland means operating within devolved health systems. This can be tricky in the context of campaigning during a general election where politicians elected to our UK Parliament will have limited power over devolved health policy. However, MPs can play important roles in terms of holding local services to account, informing some aspects of policy that aren’t devolved (e.g. Work and Pensions) and shaping their own party’s position. Influencing during an election is also an excellent opportunity to educate policy makers and communities about rheumatology.
Here are some more reasons why you should get involved:
- The interconnectedness of health policy: Decisions made at the UK level can still have significant implications for the devolved nations, particularly in areas such as funding allocations, cross-border healthcare arrangements, and overarching public health strategies. Highlighting the specific healthcare needs and challenges faced by devolved nations can help ensure that funding and resources are distributed appropriately.
- Platform for representation: Devolved voices can be heard.
- Shared values: An opportunity to demonstrate shared values and solidarity across the UK.
Taking this into account, we have created and tailored our e-actions accordingly. The automated e-actions produce two differently tailored emails to communicate both with UK parliamentary candidates, as well as devolved politicians working in Scottish Parliament, NI Assembly and Senedd. Our communications will also use country-specific statistics and asks. This election an opportunity to ask politicians and party’s how they will help shape local services and hold their parties to account if they are successful in getting into power.
If you have any questions or would like to feedback on the resources, contact policy@rheumatology.org.uk