Officials warned NHS construction would be delayed months before announcement

Documents have suggested Scottish ministers knew the construction of new national treatment centres (NTC) would be delayed months in advance.

Ministers officially announced the two-year delay to a network of 10 treatment centres in January which were to be constructed to deliver additional capacity in the NHS.

However, papers published in response to a freedom of information (FOI) request from Scottish Labour shows officials warned in September 2023 that developments may have to be paused.

The document from the Directorate of the Chief Operating Officer for NHS Scotland made the recommendation and warned the commitment to reduce waiting times year on year “would not be met”.

There is no evidence to suggest ministers accepted the proposals at the time, however officials later recommended again in November that the “immediate priority” be placed on addressing current waiting times, adding that capital funding was not available for the next stage of the NTC programme.

The heavily redacted documents, seen by the PA news agency, also show another official noting concern by email from the then first minister Humza Yousaf, stating: “He has asked what is the status of the other NTCs outstanding, and how do we handle what will be (another) commitment we are seen to be rolling back from?”

The Scottish Government announced the pause of half of the NTC network – in Ayrshire and Arran, Grampian, Lanarkshire, Lothian and Tayside – earlier this year, alongside a string of other NHS capital projects.

A revised timeline outlining when the new buildings would be constructed was due to be published this spring, however it was confirmed earlier this week that this will likely be delayed until December, following the budget.

Dame Jackie Baillie, health spokeswoman for Scottish Labour, said: “This correspondence shows that the SNP Government knew the future of its flagship network of national treatment centres was up in the air as early as September and spent months trying to find a way to save face.

“While the SNP has been building hospitals in the clouds, Scots have been dealing with the reality of longer waiting times that were never going to be fixed by the NTCs alone.

“The advice from NHS officials is clear – the SNP must prioritise dealing with the backlog and giving our hardworking doctors and nurses the equipment they need.

“The UK Labour Government is providing enough funds for 160,000 more NHS appointments but it’s up to the SNP to spend that money wisely and that starts with being transparent about its spending plans.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “As we have said consistently, due to significant increases in construction costs due to inflation, and a lower than expected capital grant from the UK Government, a capital review is currently under way. We plan to publish a revised Scottish Government infrastructure investment pipeline alongside the 2025-26 budget.”