High pressure on NHS every winter not inevitable – Gray

High levels of pressure on Scotland’s NHS every winter are not an inevitability, Health Secretary Neil Gray has said.

Mr Gray stressed the importance of year-round planning to deal with the additional demands that come with winter, such as flu cases and higher numbers of trips and falls.

Earlier this week, Mr Gray acknowledged there are still “significant winter pressures” on the NHS despite flu hospital admissions falling.

First Minister John Swinney also spoke of “colossal” levels of demand as he apologised to a retired police officer who spent more than five hours lying on the floor in accident and emergency in pain awaiting treatment.

He told the PA news agency: “I don’t think that’s an inevitability.

“Obviously there are particular aspects of winter that mean it is going to bring with it particular respiratory conditions – as well as when you’ve got icy weather, the trauma impact that comes through trips and falls.

“Of course, those are going to be there, but I don’t see it as an inevitability that we continue to have really high levels of pressure, as we’ve seen this year from flu, on an annual basis.”

He said the Budget includes £200 million to increase capacity and reduce delayed discharge in the NHS.

On Tuesday, Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane told Mr Gray there had been a 25% reduction in flu vaccinations delivered compared to last year.

Labour’s health spokeswoman Dame Jackie Baillie also pressed the Health Secretary, saying pressures are leading to ambulances “routinely queuing up” outside hospitals.