A demographic NHS timebomb in Scotland

Sir, After projections recently showed the number of pensioners is set to increase by 28 per cent, it is high time the SNP started listening to warnings about an ageing population

The National Records of Scotland has estimated the hike over the next 25 years, which would unfortunately bring with it a rise in conditions such as dementia.

Hospitals across the country are already struggling to cope with increasing numbers of patients, particularly those with diseases linked to living longer.

Shadow health secretary Miles Briggs said the NHS was already struggling as a result of the SNP’s failure to plan for an ageing population and he said the problems would only worsen as that demographic increased.

The elderly population has rocketed in the past 10 years north of the border and the growth is even larger in rural constituencies such as here in Argyll and Bute.

In fact, by 2039, the number of over75s will have gone from 430,000 to a massive 800,000.

In contrast, the population of 0-15-year- olds will rise by only one per cent.

The Scottish Government must act now or the problems for hospital staff and patients are only going to get worse as the years go on.

There is going to be a heavily increasing elderly population north of the border, who risk being served by an NHS which sadly won’t be remotely equipped to provide the help they need and is being centralised to near breaking point by the separatists.

Perhaps if the Scottish Government dropped its obsession with both another independence referendum and centralising everything in sight, it could concentrate on steering clear of this iceberg.