by LUCY ASHTON
Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Adam Harley MSP said today that his party will continue to fight to fix the NHS after new figures revealed extremely poor attendance rates at walk-in GP clinics, long waits for tests, treatments and care packages, and thousands of people waiting in A&E.
New figures published today show that:
- GP walk-in centres in Hawick, Dunoon, Dundee, Benbecula and Invergordon all saw fewer than 10 patients a day.
- There are 771,800 ongoing waits for NHS tests and treatments, with over a third of outpatients waiting longer than 12 weeks from referral to treatment.
- There are 9,925 people waiting for either a social care assessment or for a care package.
- 2026 is on track to be the worst year for A&E waiting times, with 4,498 people waiting more than 8 hours and 1,935 people waiting more than 12 hours in the week ending 20th September.
On GP walk-in centres, Adam Harley said:
“Barely anyone is using these clinics. It’s a very far cry from the one million additional appointments promised by John Swinney, right.
“It’s yet more evidence that they are failing to reduce the enormous pressure on GPs.
“The government needs to explain why they are rolling out another raft of these centres when every indication we have is that they are not working.
“The focus needs to be on hiring more specialist staff to work alongside GPs and enabling pharmacists to do more prescribing. That’s how we can free up GP time and get everyone seen quicker.”
On NHS waits, he said:
“Staff shortages and a neglect of social care are a big part of why people are waiting so long for the treatment they need.
“I want the government to listen to my party’s plan for a rolling 10-year NHS Workforce Plan, so we can identify gaps in staffing and resolve them early on.
“We also need to make sure care workers and care packages are in place for patients who are medically ready to return home from hospitals. That’s how we free up more space inside hospitals and get people the treatment they need in good time.”
On social care waits, he said:
“Many of these people will be waiting in hospital, which is leading to fewer available beds, greater waits at A&E and ambulances stacking up outside.
“You can’t fix the NHS without fixing care.
“That’s why my party wants to boost pay and conditions for care workers, recruit more people into caring professions and deliver new key worker housing to help them live and work in the communities they serve.”
On A&E waits, he said:
“We already knew the situation in Scotland’s A&E departments is desperate. The revelation that it’s getting worse is outrageous.
“A visit to A&E can literally be a matter of life and death, but the SNP’s failure to rescue Scotland’s hospitals has left people who need care stuck in corridors for hours on end instead of getting vital treatment when they most need it.
“Scottish Liberal Democrats will continue holding the SNP to account for its two-decade mismanagement of our NHS, and we will not let ministers hide from the data that prove just how wrong they’ve got it.”