NHS ‘faring worse under Nats’
ALMOST half of Scots believe standards in the health service have worsened under the SNP.
As the NHS prepares to celebrate its 70th anniversary, amid a crisis in waiting times and staff shortages, a majority would pay more tax to improve services.
Forty-six per cent of people think NHS standards have fallen over the past decade, a Panelbase poll published yesterday found. However, about one in four Scots believe standards have improved.
The survey, commissioned by the Sunday Times Scotland, also found support for charging patients who miss appointments and for a ban on the NHS funding treatments such as tummy tucks, tattoo removals and breast implants.
More than 1,000 Scots were asked for their views on the NHS, which turns 70 next month. A total of 52 per cent of those quizzed said they would be willing to pay higher taxes to fund a better service.
The poll follows damning reports on the NHS by spending watchdog Audit Scotland that show the health service is struggling, with patients waiting longer for treatment, targets missed and little improvement in the nation’s health amid unprecedented financial pressures.
Nearly three-quarters of Scots polled felt patients who repeatedly miss appointments should be fined, and 61 per cent thought patients who often show up at A&E with drink or drug problems should be charged.
More than 1.7million outpatient appointments – about one in ten – were missed in the past ten years, costing the NHS around £200million. The poll also found majority backing for terminally ill Scots to get the right to die.
The Scottish Government insists it is funding the NHS at ‘record levels’.
But Scottish Conservative health spokesman Miles Briggs said: ‘This polling is a real insight into the dismal view many Scots have of the SNP’s stewardship of our NHS.
‘After 11 years of SNP mismanagement Scots are looking for change and for new ideas and fresh leadership for our NHS.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘The NHS continues to provide a free public service, and NHS staff do a fantastic job.
‘There are challenges across the whole of the UK with our NHS, which is facing more pressure than ever before, due to an ageing population, and rising demand.’
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