Labour claims new waiting-times figures show NHS ‘fighting for survival’

Ministers have been warned that the NHS is “fighting for survival” as the latest figures showed more than 7,000 Scots have been waiting more than two years for treatment – including 1,349 people who have been waiting at least three years.

Opposition parties hit out at the Scottish Government as Public Health Scotland (PHS) published its latest official data on NHS waiting times.

Its figures showed that as of September 30 this year there were 636,238 individuals waiting either for an outpatient appointment or for hospital treatment – the equivalent of one in nine people in Scotland.

However, opposition parties claimed that by the time patients on other lists were added, there were more than 863,000 Scots on an NHS waiting list.

The Scottish Government insisted this figure was “factually inaccurate” while PHS insisted figures “should not be added together” to prevent double counting, noting that patients may be “waiting to attend more than one scheduled hospital appointment or admission”.

Meanwhile, with the data also showing the Scottish Government has failed in its commitment to reduce long waits for treatment, Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie accused the SNP of “standing idly by while our NHS is fighting for survival”.

Her comments came after PHS figures showed that as of September 30 there were 150,863 patients wating for either in-patient or day case treatment.

While targets announced in July 2022 had committed the Government to ending waits of a year or more for treatment by September 2024, the PHS report made clear “this, along with the other long wait targets, has not been met”.

As of September 30 2024, there were 38,373 waits over 52 weeks for in-patient or day case treatment – with this total 4,037 higher than when the targets were announced.

The latest data also showed 7,157 waits of more than two years for treatment, as well as 1,349 for more than three years.

Meanwhile, there were an estimated 510,133 individuals waiting for an outpatient appointment at hospital as of September 30 2024, with 62,595 people waiting a year or more, including 3,712 who have been on the list for in excess of two years.

The waiting list for outpatient appointments is now 5.6% higher than it was at the end of September last year, PHS said, and had increased more than two-fold – rising by 312,193 – since the end of March 2020, about the time the Covid pandemic started.

Other figures showed 138,782 patients were waiting for one of eight key diagnostic tests as of September 30 2024 – although this was down by 7% from the total at the end of June.

Ms Baillie said the long waits for tests, appointment and treatment “not only cause needless pain and anxiety for patients, but pile pressure on our NHS”.

She added: “The SNP is gambling with the very future of our NHS by failing to get to grips with this crisis.

“We need a real catch-up plan to drive down waiting lists and put an end to these shameful long waits.”

Scottish Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane accused the Scottish Government of an “utter failure to prioritise our health service”.

Dr Gulhane said: “It is completely unacceptable to leave patients scared and uncertain about their future instead of delivering urgent care they need as soon as possible.

“The blame for these delays lies squarely with successive SNP health secretaries who have completely failed to deliver on their promise to reduce them. Instead, waiting times are higher than before their targets were announced.”

He said Health Secretary Neil Gray and the Scottish Government “must urgently set out a real plan to address this crisis before our health service totally collapses under this strain”.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton was also critical, saying patients “deserve better” than “these extremely long waits”.

Mr Cole-Hamilton said: “This SNP Government have only themselves to blame for their mismanagement of our health service.

“They have failed our hardworking NHS staff, who haven’t got the beds, safe staffing and resources they desperately need.

“As we enter the winter months, it is crucial that the Health Secretary acts now and does not repeat the failures of his predecessors.”

Mr Gray accepted that “people are waiting too long for treatment” but insisted the Government is “determined to reduce waiting times”.

He said: “We continue to target resources to clear the longest waits and are working with all boards to maximise current resources and productivity.

“Significant activity is under way through our £30 million investment to target pandemic backlogs. This will see around 12,000 additional new outpatient appointments, around 12,000 additional inpatient/day-case procedures and over 40,000 diagnostic procedures delivered.

“We are making progress and diagnostics waiting lists are at their lowest since the ending of Covid restrictions in April 2022 – this is welcome and we are determined to build on this.”