Tackling long NHS waits is my overriding priority, says new Health Secretary

Scotland’s new health secretary has declared tackling long waits for treatment in the NHS will be one of his “overriding priorities”.

Neil Gray made the pledge as he carried out his first hospital visit since taking on the job last Thursday, in a rapid reshuffle prompted by the resignation of Michael Matheson.

Mr Gray, who had previously had the wellbeing economy and fair work portfolio within the Scottish Government, accepted that taking charge of the NHS was “always a major challenge”.

But he stressed it was also a “great honour and a privilege to deal with leading a service that is cherished by people across the country and touches everybody at one point in time or another”.

His comments came as he visited the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, to see how initiatives there are helping reduce pressures on the NHS.

The flow navigation centre in the hospital acts as a virtual A&E unit, with senior clinicians from different departments working with NHS24 and the Scottish Ambulance Service to triage patients before they even arrive at hospital.

Of the 20,000 calls that the service handled last year, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said only 16%  required the patient to come to A&E – with others given appointments instead at minor injuries units, referred to other services, or advised they did not need to attend hospital at all.

Dr Scott Davidson, deputy medical director for acute services at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, hailed the service as being one way of “helping our patients get seen and treated faster”.

Dr Davidson said: “While pressure on our hospital sites remains at an all-time high, enabling thousands of patients to be treated away from physical A&E departments has made a significant impact on the front door at our hospitals and will continue to play a crucial role in the way we deliver healthcare going forward.”

With services such as this in place, Mr Gray said he hoped there could be a “continuous improvement” in A&E waiting times.

With the latest weekly figures showing that across the country only 63.5% of patients were seen and either admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours – well below the Scottish Government target of 95% – the Health Secretary accepted waits are “still too long” for many patients.

He stated: “I recognise for too many people the waits are too long, and that is going be one of my overriding priorities, to try to see that continuous improvement and to make sure the capacity is there that we are able to respond to the needs of the people of Scotland.”

While he said becoming Health Secretary was a “challenge”, he insisted it was “one that I relish”.

Mr Gray told how work was underway “rebuilding and recovering our health and social care services post pandemic” – but stressed that Brexit had also had an impact on staffing in the health and care sector, and that both inflation and a “decade and a half of Conservative austerity” had affected finances.

Claiming that UK Government spending plans had also resulted in “an erosion on our ability to invest”, Mr Gray insisted, nevertheless, the Scottish Government was spending record sums on health.

He said: “We are investing record levels, £19.5 billion in this budget for health and social care, a 3% real terms increase for NHS boards to £14 billion.”

Despite this, he said there was “still going to be a challenge for some health boards” but he added: “I will continue to do what I can, working with them, to see the best possible service delivered.”