MSP Jackie Baillie has warned that Scotland’s NHS faces meltdown under SNP control.
The politician says there are just six months left to save the service.
Jackie, Scottish Labour’s Spokesperson for Health, warned that the nation’s healthcare system “does not have a third decade to lose to SNP failure”.
Her comments come six months out from the next Scottish Parliament election, as use of private healthcare hits a record high.
Thousands of patients have been forced to shell out for care to escape endless NHS waiting lists – including many cash-strapped residents of the politician’s Dumbarton constituency.
Currently around one in six Scots are on an NHS waiting list – including 12,456 people who have been waiting more than two years for an in-patient procedure or out-patient appointment.
Every week thousands of Scots face dangerously long waits in A&E, with latest figures showing performance declining again.
In the week ending November 9th, just 56.4 per cent of patients attending Paisley’s A&E department were treated within four hours.
The figure represents a further drop from the previous week’s tally of 59.3 per cent.
The Scottish Government’s own four-hour standard calls for 95 per cent of patients to be admitted, transferred or discharged within the timeframe.
Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour’s Spokesperson for Health and Social Care, said: “In less than half a year, Scotland will elect a new Scottish Government and the stakes could not be higher.
“One is six Scots is on an NHS waiting list and record numbers of people are being forced to go private – including many in my Dumbarton constituency, who can ill afford it, but cannot face waiting in pain any longer.
“Thousands of patients also face dangerously long waits in A&E every week – despite the SNP’s claim that its Covid Recovery Plan would reinvigorate our NHS.
“The SNP has trampled over the founding principles of our NHS and I am crystal clear that our health service will not survive a third decade of SNP failure.
“We have six months to get rid of this incompetent SNP government with a track record of failure and save Scotland’s NHS.
“A Scottish Labour government will tackle the waiting list emergency by utilising capacity across the country, end the 8am scramble for a GP appointment, ensure our NHS and patients benefit from cutting-edge technology, support hardworking staff with a real workforce plan and ease the pressure on hospitals by properly supporting social care and primary care.
“The only way to save Scotland’s NHS is by getting rid of the SNP in six months’ time and Scottish Labour is the only party who can do that.”
