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I want to ask about the service model. As you will know, in our evidence-taking sessions, a lot of questions have been raised about the doctors who would be involved. Would the bill result in doctor shopping? How would we deal with large numbers of doctors conscientiously objecting? Are GPs in a position to be the doctors involved, or might a specialist service work better? Should there be an opt-in service rather than an opt-out service? What are your views on those questions?

Given your experience of looking into the issue and visiting other jurisdictions, do you think that it has been a good approach to provide for institutional objections, or would you wish to avoid that. That has happened in some other areas, although, as you know, it has been questioned both ways.

In Ayrshire and Arran, ambulances have had to wait more than five hours before patients can be admitted, due to lack of capacity. Insufficient workforce planning has meant that NHS services have been unable to cope with high pressures and demand. That clearly links to the mental health pressures that have been placed on ambulance crews. Despite that, newly qualified paramedics are being forced to relocate, due to a shortage of job opportunities in Scotland. Surely the Government recognises that better workforce planning would alleviate some of the pressure that is felt by the Scottish Ambulance Service. What steps is the cabinet secretary taking to ensure that Scotland fully benefits from the investment that has been made in paramedic education and training?

The Royal College of Nursing’s corridor care report revealed harrowing truths about the current realities of NHS patient care. For a start, the pressure of overcrowding has forced staff to care for patients in unsafe and inappropriate areas. Corridor care compromises patient privacy and dignity, and it should not be accepted as the norm. To show that the Scottish Government recognises that staff across health and social care are at breaking point, I ask the cabinet secretary to commit today to publishing regular data on corridor care.

To ask the Scottish Government when it last discussed plans to reduce corridor care and the use of temporary escalation spaces with national health service boards. (S6O-04267)

Broken promises, missed targets, poor delivery and lack of ambition—that is the truth of the SNP NHS. Ask any constituent—they all have a story about the dedication of NHS staff and the dismal failure of the SNP Government.

The SNP Government has fallen short on so many national commitments that it is simply too hard to keep track of all its failures. Today, I, along with many other Scots, feel what can only be described as frustration over the Government’s inability to deliver many of its pledges and develop an NHS that is fit for our future and for our patients and staff.

The Government cannot argue with the facts. One in six Scots are on an NHS waiting list; more than 5 million bed days have been lost to delayed discharge in the past decade; and Scotland has the worst life expectancy rates across the UK, and one of the worst rates in western Europe—

Thank you, Presiding Officer. In Scotland, 863,000 people are on waiting lists. Scotland has the worst life expectancy rates across the UK and the worst in western Europe. Under the SNP Government, inequality has widened and our national health service is crumbling. The minister has to accept those points.

Staff are forced to deal with rising demand without sufficient planning or action from the Government to help. It is not just MSPs in the chamber who are saying that; respected professional bodies, such as the royal colleges and others in the medical profession, are saying it, too. In its briefing for today’s debate, the BMA says that there is no serious plan and that the Scottish Government is failing to provide a true picture of the stark reality of the challenges in recruiting and retaining senior doctors.

The latest Royal College of Nursing report, which has been mentioned, highlights the damning consequences of the lack of planning in relation to corridor care. It has become accepted in hospitals that that is how patients are cared for. Staff are caring for multiple patients in single corridors and are unable to access oxygen, cardiac monitors or other life-saving equipment. Nurses have reported feeling ashamed, demoralised and distraught that they cannot care for patients in the way in which they have been trained to do and in which patients deserve to be cared for. Frankly, it is shameful that things have got as bad as they have. It is undeniable that NHS staff and patients are bearing the brunt of the Government’s failure—the Government’s failure.

When the Government clearly lacks ambition and competence in workforce planning, how do we solve a workforce crisis that has cost the taxpayer more than £9 million in spending on temporary nurses, locum doctors and consultants? Scottish Labour has been telling the Government for years that ineffective planning has led hard-working staff to breaking point. Graduates cannot get jobs, and a lack of staff has meant that remote and rural communities continue to experience inequalities when accessing services. That is why the Parliament must support Scottish Labour’s motion.

The Government needs to develop a 10-year health and social care workforce plan that meets the needs of the people of Scotland. The people of Scotland are crying out for a new direction, and they deserve a lot better than what the SNP Government is delivering. I hope that members will support our motion to move things forward.

Cabinet secretary, I want to ask about ministerial powers. You may or may not be able to put anything on the record at this point, but I will give you an opportunity to do so. The bill contains 10 delegated powers provisions: nine regulation-making powers and one power to issue guidance. At this stage, does the Scottish Government have any comment about the scope of the regulation-making powers in the bill?

That is helpful. Thank you, convener.

That is fine. Is there anything about what will be in the bill that you can comment on, particularly about subordinate legislation?