HE SNP has “spectacularly failed” women, according to Scottish Labour, after all NHS boards north of the border have failed to complete a gender equality programme.
The Equally Safe at Work programme, jointly led by the Scottish government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla), was developed by labour market equality campaigners Close the Gap to challenge the widely acknowledged historic neglect of tackling workplace inequalities issues and violence against women.
Despite the programme being piloted in the NHS in 2019, and launched in 2021, a series of freedom of information requests by Scottish Labour has now revealed that only two health boards — Ayrshire and Arran, and Dumfries and Galloway — have gone ahead with pilots, and no part of the Scottish NHS has yet completed the programme.
Scottish Labour’s women’s health spokeswoman Carol Mochan said: “Over two years have passed since this vital programme to support women was launched, but to date not a single health board has successfully accredited to the programme.