Every one of us must share blame for parlous state of the NHS in Scotland today

How can the NHS be “crumbling before our eyes” (your editorial, 21 August) when, since 1970, spending has increased fivefold in real terms and we spend twice as much as a percentage of GDP?

In 2017, £124 billion was spent on the NHS. In 1970 the amount was £22bn, adjusted for inflation. The Scottish figures are roughly £13bn and £2bn.

Are we five times more ill than 50 years ago? Sad- ly we seem to be – physically and mentally, despite huge improvements in treatments for both.

One factor that politicians never mention is the excessive demands we, the consumers, make, many either of our own making or as a result of changes in society and family life.

Type 2 diabetes is an example of the increase in physical illness. In 1965, there were 50,000 sufferers in Scotland. Today there are 250,000 – five times as many – almost all caused by obesity, and costing around £1bn out of NHS Scotland’s £13bn budget.

The surge in mental illness seems to have contributed to the resignation of Dr Peter Bennie, the head of the BMA in Scotland. He is a psychiatrist, unable to cope with demand.

No wonder our ambulance service is creaking when 42 per cent of weekend callouts are for drunks with self-inflicted emergencies. And what chance do our doctors have if, for example, only 1.3 million out of 2.1 million Scots invited to use the simple home bowel cancer screening test take up the offer, meaning 4,000 out of a possible 7,000 bowel cancers are discovered and treated early, successfully and at less cost.

So should the “radical thinking” you suggest only be about what we ask the NHS to do and the measures that can ensure its survival, or should it include what we as consumers and politicians do to alleviate the pressures and expectations on the organisation?

As with education, this crisis predates the SNP but has got worse during its tenure. Politicians are reluctant to challenge the voters, 57 per cent of whom are overweight or obese.

Surely it is time all parties made a joint statement that many NHS problems are due to the demands of lifestyle illnesses and diverted funds into prevention; that there needs to be a review of treatments and services available for free; and that radical restructuring on the management and bureaucracy is required, in the face of union and professional resistance. The promise should be that NHS workers’ and patients’ lives will be more rewarding because demand will be less.

ALLAN SUTHERLAND Willow Row, Stonehaven