Swinney accused of ‘spin’ on NHS turning corner amid spike in long A&E waits

The First Minister has been accused of “spin” on the state of the NHS after figures revealed a spike in Scots suffering long A&E waits.

Scottish Labour accused John Swinney, along with Neil Gray, of “desperate attempts” to “pretend the NHS is turning a corner”.

The Health Secretary used the phrase last week after figures showed operations were at the highest level since the pandemic, while the First Minister used the phrase last month after pledging £25.5 million to bring down waiting times.

But it comes after the latest A&E figures showed an increase in Scots waiting more than 12 hours for treatment.

The data, released by Public Health Scotland, shows 2,095 (7.4%) patients waited more than a dozen hours in the week ending November 30, up from 1,532 (5.7%) the week before.

The number of people waiting more than eight hours jumped to 4,416 (15.6%), compared to 3,413 (12.7%) the week before.

Meanwhile, the number of patients waiting under the four-hour target dropped to 17,320 (61.3%), down from 17,670 (65.6%) the week prior.

Dame Jackie Baillie, deputy leader of Scottish Labour, accused the Government of failing to get to grips with the recent flu outbreak, which she said would only add to the pressure facing the NHS.

She said: “Despite the desperate attempts by John Swinney and Neil Gray to pretend that the NHS is turning a corner, the reality is that a rising number of patients are facing lengthy waits in A&E departments across the country.

“The surge in flu and respiratory cases will be adding additional pressure to an already struggling system, all because the SNP was slow to vaccinate, particularly in schools, and uptake amongst the general population remains lower than normal.

“The SNP’s spin won’t fool Scots who are suffering as a result of ministers’ utter incompetence to get to grips with our health service.”

Dr Sandesh Gulhane, the Scottish Tory spokesman on health, said: “These terrifying waiting times expose an NHS on the brink after decades of SNP mismanagement.

“Lives are being needlessly lost because thousands of patients are left stranded in overcrowded emergency departments.

“With flu cases more than doubling in a week, this crisis will only escalate as winter bites, despite the best efforts of frontline staff.

“Staff have been let down by Neil Gray’s late and inadequate winter preparedness plan, as well as years of dire workforce planning by successive SNP health secretaries.”

Health Secretary Neil Gray said: “Our A&E departments are facing sustained pressure, resulting in current A&E performance below the levels we all wish to see.

“This situation is not unique to Scotland, with all other UK nations experiencing similar pressures. We know we are seeing an increase in flu cases earlier this year which is adding additional pressure to the system.

“We want to drive improvements and are working closely with health boards to ensure they have the support in place to cope with peaks in demand.

“We are investing £200 million to reduce waiting times, improve hospital flow, and minimise delayed discharges.

“We will provide direct access to specialist frailty teams in every A&E and expand Hospital at Home capacity to at least 2,000 beds by the end of 2026. These measures will help us shift the focus of care from acute to community.”