THE plans to create a national care service in Scotland would lead to the profit motive being “progressively driven out” from the sector, Nicola Sturgeon said yesterday.

The First Minister outlined broad plans for the creation of a uniform care sector in Scotland.

This pledge comes after the SNP backed the creation of parity between the NHS and care across Scotland. 

Last month, Ms Sturgeon said that setting up a national care service would be one of the first actions an SNP government takes if it returns to power in May. 

On Thursday the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) kicked off its election campaign by calling for a national care service which excludes for-profit care provision in Scotland, as well as “levelling up terms and conditions through collective bargaining,” with SNP minister Fiona Hyslop saying that the “SNP supports the STUC’s calls.”

When asked by the Star whether the SNP’s plans would end for-profit care provision in Scotland, the First Minister said that a national care service “doesn’t necessarily mean that every care home and every care provider will be owned by the state” - particularly in the short-term. 

But Ms Sturgeon predicted that Scotland will move “to a situation where you have uniform standards, and a much more standardised provision in terms of costs.”

She added: “There will be decisions to be taken about the design of that, and the balance between the setting of national standards and national benchmarks, versus care homes being taken into public ownership. 

“There’s some work to be done, but the principle we are working towards is the principle that underlines the NHS right now, and it’s that parity that we’re working towards.

“The profit motive is something that will become progressively driven out of the system as you move towards that.”

Ms Sturgeon said that Parliament would need to bring forward legislation to determine the detail of such a service. 

She also reiterated her party’s commitment to national collective bargaining as part of the establishment of a national care service, describing this as an “integral” part of plans. 

This comes as it was revealed that Prime Minister Boris Johnson may not visit Scotland ahead of next month’s elections. 

Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross admitted that he was “not sure” if Mr Johnson would travel north, claiming the coronavirus made it a “very different” type of campaign.

Mr Johnson visited Scotland at the end of January when coronavirus levels were much higher and a “stay at home” order was in place.