Waiting lists for patients in the Highlands are 'shameful', says north MSP, Rhoda Grant
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A NORTH MSP has described the waiting lists for patients in the Highlands as "shameful" and has accused the Scottish Government of "destroying the NHS."
Rhoda Grant made the comments after figures from Public Health Scotland showed the number of times legally-binding targets have been missed.
She called for action to be taken to "ensure people can get the treatment they need with the urgency they deserve."
The statistics reveal that the statutory Treatment Time Guarantee, which states that no inpatient or day case patient should wait more than 12 weeks, has been broken 15,875 times in NHS Highland since it was introduced in the last quarter of 2021.
Mrs Grant, a Labour MSP for the Highlands and Islands, said the SNP is "failing the Highlands, destroying the NHS and failing staff and patients."
She claimed the results cannot be blamed on the pandemic as the figures show the law was breached 28,691 times before Covid hit.
Mrs Grant said: "It is written in law that all patients should be treated within 12 weeks – but years of SNP mismanagement means that here in the Highlands, this law has been broken a staggering 15,875 times. Every one of these breaches is someone waiting anxiously for a medical procedure, often in pain. Many have put their lives on hold, stopped work or retired because of their condition."
She added: "Humza Yousaf’s so-called NHS Recovery Plan has done nothing to turn the tide, with 46,690 patients in the Highlands waiting over 12 weeks since it was published.
"Incredible staff across NHS Highland are going above and beyond to keep services going but they are being failed by a government that is asleep at the wheel.
"The SNP’s incompetence is failing the Highlands, destroying the NHS and failing staff and patients.
"We need a real catch up plan to drive down these shameful waiting lists and ensure people can get the treatment they need with the urgency they deserve."
According to the figures, the highest number of breaches up to December last year were in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde at 159,861. There were 114,047 in NHS Lothian over the same period.
By contrast, the lowest number of breaches were recorded in NHS Shetland and NHS Orkney with 1516 and 1518
respectively.
