Swinney challenged by Sarwar over ‘doom loop of delays’ in NHS
Scotland’s NHS is suffering from a “doom loop of delays” after staff absences due to sickness amounted to more than 15 million hours last year, Labour has claimed.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar challenged the First Minister as he told how an NHS dental nurse had been forced to quit her job after waiting “years” for surgery.
Mr Sarwar raised the case of Karen Campbell with John Swinney at First Minister’s Questions at Holyrood, telling the SNP leader: “Scots deserve an NHS that is there when they need it, but under this SNP Government even our NHS staff can’t get the treatment they need in time so they can get back to work and treat others.
“What this has created is a doom loop of delays where everyone loses out.”
Speaking about NHS staff absences, Mr Sarwar said more than 15.3 million hours had been lost in 2023-24 “in the middle of an NHS crisis”.
He added: “That is the equivalent of 640,000 days lost in our NHS when one in six Scots are on an NHS waiting list.”
He said Ms Campbell, who was a dental nurse for 25 years, had been “forced to quit after waiting years for prolapse and hip surgery”.
Adding that she said her experience “shows how broken the system is”, Mr Sarwar demanded: “Can the First Minister explain why an NHS dental nurse is being forced to quit due to NHS waiting lists, when we have NHS staff shortages and an NHS crisis?”
Mr Swinney said: “I obviously very much regret the circumstances that Anas Sarwar puts to me about Karen Campbell’s case.
“Obviously it is in the interests of the National Health Service for individuals who are their employees to be treated timeously, as it is in all walks of life, so people can get back to their work.”
He also highlighted the impact of the “perpetuation of austerity” as he challenged Mr Sarwar to put pressure on the Labour Government at Westminster to make more money available.
Mr Swinney insisted: “We’re getting austerity under the Labour Party as we speak.
“My message to Mr Sarwar is if he wants to help the situation, he should say to the UK masters ‘end the austerity’.”
He also defended the SNP’s record on the NHS, saying staffing has increased since the party came to power in 2007, pointing to a 17.5% rise in nursing and midwifery staff over the period and a 68% increase in medical and dental consultants.
Mr Swinney also highlighted rising activity levels, saying year-on-year there has been a 9.9% rise in in-patient and day case treatment, as well as a 2.7% increase in outpatient activity.
Adding that demand for care has risen “as a consequence of the Covid pandemic”, he added: “Our health service staff are working as hard as they possibly can do, and I admire them for all they are doing to try to deal with that situation.”