Rest in Peace Ziva Lily Sheehy Cussen
Search
20 Jan 2026
Search
20 Jan 2026
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.
Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.
If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .
Support our mission and join our community now.
To continue reading this article, you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles!
Alternatively, you can pay €0.50 per article, capped at €1 per day.
Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism!
The Scottish Government has been told the NHS is now “in crisis mode” after figures showed the number of complaints against the health system has increased.
The Scottish Conservatives warned hospitals have been left “dangerously under-resourced and overstretched” by the SNP.
Figures released by Public Health Scotland show the total number of complaints received by NHS Scotland increased by 3% in 2024-25.
Some 34,220 complaints were made in the latest year, up from 33,273 in 2023-24.
The number of complaints upheld at stage one (39%) also rose by 2%, the figures show. Meanwhile, those upheld at stage two without escalation (23%) and following escalation (28%) both fell by 2%.
Dr Sandesh Gulhane, the Tory health spokesman at Holyrood, said the NHS was overstretched.
He said: “The rising number of complaints is further proof that our NHS is in crisis mode under the SNP.
“My frontline colleagues are working tirelessly to support their patients, but nationalist ministers have left them dangerously under-resourced and overstretched.
“This is resulting in tragic mistakes. Staff are not miracle workers and need to stop being asked to do their jobs without the resources required.
“Neil Gray should show some common sense and adopt our plans to cut bureaucracy, reduce the number of middle managers and divert resources to the front line to support staff.”
Scottish Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said: “These figures are a damning reflection of the SNP’s mismanagement of our NHS.
“Services and staff are at breaking point due to a woeful lack of leadership from this SNP Government and patients are paying the price.
“The SNP cannot be trusted with our NHS – but Scottish Labour is ready to step up and make our NHS fit for the future so patients get the standard of care they deserve.”
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.
This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.
