NHS in Scotland ‘at breaking point’

THE NHS i n Scotland is stretched pretty much to breaking point and needs more staff in all posts, a leading doctor has warned.

Dr Peter Bennie, chairman of British Medical Association Scotland, said figures claiming that doctor numbers are at a record high are not relevant when there are vacancies across the country.

He told the BBC’s Sunday Politics Scotland programme that consultants, doctors and nurses are having to take on more work “just to keep things running”.

Dr Bennie said: “We’re running vacancies right across the country — urban, rural, hospital, GP.

“And we’re fed up with a mantra from the Government that says we have more doctors than ever before.

“The point is we need more again in order to be able to provide the service that people require.

“The relevant question is: Do we have enough doctors? Do we have enough nurses? Do we have enough staff outside the health service to provide the care that people need? And at present, we don’t.”

He added: “We’re stretched pretty much to breaking point, just trying to keep things going.

Scottish Labour health spokesman Anas Sarwar said: “This is an incredibly serious warning from the BMA.

“It is painfully clear that the SNP’s failure to properly workforce plan has left our NHS staff over-worked, under-valued and under-resourced.

“This has left our NHS struggling to cope with demand, and in the grip of a workforce crisis.

“A decade of SNP mismanagement has increased pressure on staff in every part of our health service — from nurses who say their workload is getting worse, to GPs who say their surgeries are understaffed.”

Health secretary Shona Robison said: “We recognise that change is needed and last month published the Health and Social Care delivery plan to set out the actions and timescales to support healthcare professionals, charities and patient groups.

“By the end of this parliament, we’ll have increased health funding by almost £2 billion and delivery of the plan will be supported by record levels of investment in our health and care services, plus dedicated funding of over £125 million in the coming year to help deliver change on the ground.”

She added: “NHS boards have a statutory duty to undertake workforce planning. There are now 11,500 more staff working in our NHS, with nearly 1,000 of these recruited in the last year.”

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