Shameful plight of patients trapped in agonising limbo

They are Scotland’s forgotten victims. Thousands of people who suffer every single day, trapped in limbo as they await the treatment that could alleviate their constant agony.

Their stories are the worrying fall-out from an NHS system creaking under pressure from an ever-growing workload as our population expands and ages while politicians struggle to deal with this seismic demographic shift.

It is fundamentally wrong that those suffering chronic pain are waiting up to 22 months for treatment that could allow them to enjoy life without constant agony.

The claim that they are also victims of a system that prioritises new cases ahead of existing patients is also deeply worrying.

The people caught in the midst of this issue suffer each and every day. For some, it often becomes too much with suicide seen as the only escape from their continuing nightmare.

One such woman, Elizabeth Barry, speaks eloquently and passionately about her own plight. She is only able to tell her story because her husband found her before she was able to take her own life.

We would urge politicians to read her story and to hear her words. Is it really fair that patients such as Elizabeth see death as a way out simply because they are not seen to be a priority?

It is also critical that health boards and the Government heed calls for formal waiting time targets to be created for those awaiting repeat appointments. It really is no good hitting a target for a first appointment then leaving a patient to languish in the system as they wait for their next one.

And remember, this is not a small issue. More than 800,000 people suffer chronic pain in Scotland. That’s thousands upon thousands of family members left in pain and left feeling worthless.