Health Secretary warned long waits for NHS care ‘putting lives on line’

Lives are being put on the line as a result of long NHS waits in Scotland, Labour claimed, as figures showed the number of people waiting more than two years for treatment is 25 times higher than it is south of the border.

While the Scottish Government has promised action to tackle the longest waits in the NHS, statistics from Public Health Scotland showed at the end of December last year that 17,761 Scots had been waiting 18 months or more for either in-patient or day case treatment.

That includes 7,179 patients who have been waiting at least two years, with 1,446 on the list for three years or more.

Despite England’s larger population, it had 13,164 patients who had been waiting 18 months or more for elective care – with the total in Scotland 35% higher than south of the border.

NHS England data also showed in December there were 282 patients who had been waiting more than two years for elective care – with the 7,170 total in Scotland 25 times higher than this.

Scottish Labour health spokesperson Jackie Baillie said: “That so many more Scots are waiting over three years for treatment than compared to England is shocking and the need for action could not be greater.”

Ms Baillie, also the Scottish Labour deputy leader, said that current Health Secretary Neil Gray had “inherited an unholy mess from his predecessors”, including First Minister Humza Yousaf, who served as health secretary before succeeding Nicola Sturgeon.

Blasting the Scottish Government she said: “When it comes to the NHS, the SNP’s record is a blizzard of rhetoric to hide a litany of deadly failures.

“We can’t go on like this.

“Neil Gray must wake up to this ticking time bomb and act before more lives are put on the line.”

When he was health secretary, Mr Yousaf announced a series of targets to tackle the longest waits in the NHS, with the government promising that by the end of September 2022 no-one would be waiting two years or more for in-patient or day case treatment.

Ministers also hoped that by September 2023 waits of 18 months or more would have been ended – with Labour saying the government had failed on both these targets.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We are committed to driving down waiting times. We are working with NHS boards to increase productivity and capacity, and to respond to demand through service innovation and redesign.

“Our £1 billion NHS Recovery Plan has delivered a significant reduction for the longest waits, and continues to support an increase in activity through the implementation of sustainable improvements and new models of care. Our continued partnership with NHS Scotland’s Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD) plays a central role in this.

“We have opened two national treatment centres in NHS Fife and NHS Highland, with two further centres opening this year in NHS Forth Valley and the Golden Jubilee Hospital. These centres will deliver over 20,000 additional procedures by 2024/25.”