Meeting of the Parliament 14 June 2023
I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests: I am a practising NHS general practitioner.
Our heroic NHS staff have been failed by the SNP’s management of Scotland’s NHS. The multitude of failures and the neglect have resulted in prolonged suffering and deteriorating health for countless patients. The consequences of dereliction of duty are far reaching and unacceptable. More than 800,000 Scots are on NHS waiting lists; more than 18,000 Scots died last year while waiting for treatment. Cancer waiting times in Scotland are the worst ever.
Let us be clear: that is not down to Covid—the SNP last met its target more than a decade ago. It is a betrayal of trust and a failure to deliver the quality healthcare that patients deserve. It is simply unacceptable.
Equally distressing are the record waiting times in accident and emergency departments. Urgent action is needed to rectify that dire situation, but does the SNP-Green Government act? No, it does not.
The failure to meet waiting times for child and adolescent mental health services has left so many of our young people in jeopardy. Again, that is not due to Covid. The SNP has never met its target for 90 per cent of children and young people to start treatment within 18 weeks of referral.
When Humza Yousaf was promoted to First Minister, 7,700 children were left waiting to start treatment. That is a disgrace. The Deputy First Minister also knows a thing or two about announcements and no delivery. When Shona Robison was health secretary, she promised to end delayed discharge from hospital by the end of 2015. Seven years on, more than 17,000 beds a day are occupied due to delayed discharge.
Moreover, SNP-Green Government cuts to general practitioner budgets, as well as to health and social care spending, demonstrate a shocking lack of foresight and a disregard for the wellbeing of the population—£65 million has been cut from the primary care budget, £38 million from mental health care and £17 million from social care.
Since the SNP promised, in 2017, to increase the number of GPs by 800, GP numbers have actually decreased by 26, yet that pledge was made time and again by Humza Yousaf, who said in the chamber and in the press that the Government was on target.
The SNP has undermined the very foundations of our healthcare system, leaving it teetering on the brink of collapse. We now have an alarming number of vacancies for clinical staff: more than 6,000 nurses are missing and the Scottish Government is spending an exorbitant amount on hiring agency staff.
Take note: over the past decade, the SNP has short-changed our NHS by more than £17 million and not fully passed on the Barnett consequentials to our health service. The SNP’s management of Scotland’s NHS is marred by record failure, and it is clear that the SNP has run out of ideas. We need a fresh approach that incorporates modern, efficient and local solutions in healthcare. In light of those pressing issues, we call on the cabinet secretary for health to present a revised NHS recovery plan—one that includes the fact that Humza Yousaf knew in February that the projections for his flimsy recovery plan had dropped significantly.
Scotland does not need a cabinet secretary who is just a continuity candidate. There is a palpable lack of accountability and a history of failure. We urge the cabinet secretary to deliver a credible plan—a fresh approach that prioritises the wellbeing of our people and ensures that our healthcare system is properly supported.
I move amendment S6M-09462.1, to insert after “2022-23”:
“; notes with concern that long waits are an issue throughout all aspects of the health service, with cancer waiting times at their worst ever level, A&E targets not being met in three years, and the Scottish Government failing to clear the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) backlog”.
15:07Motions, questions or amendments mentioned by their reference code.