Sturgeon forced to defend NHS performance

First Minister says system is ‘coping admirably’ despite official figures

Nicola Sturgeon has claimed the NHS is “coping admirably” in the face of a worsening flu outbreak.

The infection rate doubled again to 107 cases per 100,000 people in the first week of 2018, four times the level it was last year.

The Tories used First Minister’s Questions to call on Ms Sturgeon to stop cutting hospital beds.

Richard Leonard, Labour’s leader in Scotland, raised the plight of Midlothian pensioner Tim Wilson, who suffered a fall on New Year’s Day.

In a letter to Health Secretary Shona Robison, Mr Wilson’s son said his father had been kept in a hospital corridor for 13 hours “like an old cow waiting to die”.

Mr Leonard said: “The doctors, the nurses, the ambulance crews, the patients and their families want to know what you are going to do to fix this mess that you have created in our NHS.”

Ms Sturgeon apologised to Mr Wilson and anyone who waits longer than they should.

She added the NHS was under “unprecedented” demand, but added: “Despite all that, thanks to winter planning and the efforts of our National Health Service staff, our NHS is coping admirably.”

Official figures this week showed A&E departments had recorded the worst performance against a key waiting target since weekly reporting began, with 78% of patients dealt with in four hours. Tayside (87.3%) and Fife (81.5%) saw significant drops on previous years.

Ms Sturgeon said despite the demands, Scotland has the best A&E performance of anywhere in the UK.

Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Conservative leader, said there are 2,000 fewer beds in Scotland’s hospitals than five years ago.

“People are waiting too long in A&E departments because there are no beds for them on wards and because many of those hospital beds are taken up by patients who are waiting for their social care arrangements,” she added.

“But this SNP government has cut both hospital beds and elderly social care places, so when something like a flu crisis hits, the system breaks down.”

Scottish Liberal Democrats leader Willie Rennie said staff and patients are suffering because of Ms Sturgeon’s “failure to do her job over the last 10 years”.

Ms Sturgeon replied: “Because of the actions that we have taken in the face of the austerity that was imposed partly by Willie Rennie’s party, we have the bestperforming health service in the United Kingdom.”