First Minister John Swinney, Dumbarton MSP Jackie Baillie and SNP MSP Emma Harper.
by Bill Heaney
Dumbarton MSP Jackie Baillie asked First Minister John Swinney what the Scottish Government’s response is to the independent investigation into NHS Scotland by the retired consultant surgeon and former president of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, Mr Mike McKirdy.
“Let us take the longest waits: the former First Minister, Humza Yousaf, said that he would end waits of more than two years by September 2022. Three years on, thousands of people are still waiting. Now, the First Minister is promising to end all waits of more than a year in just four months’ time but, last month, we learned that 11,246 people are still waiting for more than two years.
“Who should the public trust—the SNP, which overpromises and always underdelivers, or Mike McKirdy, a respected consultant who says that more of the same will not be enough? Is that not why Scots cannot afford another five years of the First Minister’s failing SNP Government?”
Mr Swinney told her: “One of the issues that will affect the performance of the national health service is the upsurge in conditions that put it under incredible pressure. Today, the national medical director of NHS England, Professor Pandit, has issued a statement, which I shall read:
“This unprecedented wave of super flu is leaving the NHS facing a worst-case scenario for this time of year.”
“I am simply saying that the health service will undoubtedly face enormous pressures when waves of cases come our way.
“That is exactly what is happening with performance in accident and emergency departments, because of flu pressures. If it is happening in England, it is likely to be happening in Scotland—which it is.
“On Monday, Mr McKirdy, LEFT, said that his strongest advice to the Scottish Government should be a relentless focus on delivery. I reassure Jackie Baillie that that is exactly what is going on, which is why, in the period since April, new out-patient waits of more than a year reduced by 17.9 per cent.
“In the same period, the waiting list size for new in-patient and day-case procedures over 52 weeks has reduced by 26.1 per cent. It is why the number of general practitioners is increasing. That is all happening because this Government is relentlessly focused on delivery.
“There is nothing for Jackie Baillie to worry about, because, as we saw from the opinion poll yesterday, nobody trusts the Labour Party on the national health service, and more people trust me and the SNP.”
Mr Swinney’s MSP colleague Emma Harper (South Scotland) maintained: “The evidence is clear that Scotland’s NHS is turning a corner, with downward trends across nearly all waiting list indicators. To suggest otherwise does a huge disservice to our fantastic NHS staff.
“I suggest that Jackie Baillie and her colleagues think twice about the impact of their scaremongering about our health and social care system in Scotland and the effect that that is having on the wider population—and perhaps also reflect on the dismal record of their colleagues in Wales and England before turning to our record.”
She added: “Can the First Minister advise how the Scottish National Party Government is working to deliver our health service in Scotland, continue to drive down waiting times, and invest in a well-funded and well-supported NHS for those who need it?”
Mr Swinney told MSPs: “The first thing to say is that we put in place record financial settlements for the national health service, which the Labour Party could not bring itself to vote for.
“We have also put in place the investment to make sure that we are increasing GP numbers and that operations are performing at levels that we have not seen since January 2020, before the pandemic.
“We have also seen an increase in the number of diagnostic tests performed, and, as I have just repeated to Jackie Baillie, long waits of more than a year have been down for five months in a row.
“What this Government is doing is focusing on the people’s priorities. We are tackling the issues in the national health service, and we are delivering for the people of Scotland.”
END