NHS NEEDS CASH
BMA chief warns service is at breaking point
THE head of Scotland’s doctors’ union insists the NHS needs extra cash to cope with soaring demand - or it will be unable to cope.
BMA Scotland chairman Dr Peter Bennie said the pressures felt at A&E departments demonstrates the need for a national debate on the impact of Scotland’s ageing population on the health service.
Yesterday, the Daily Record told how 5686 patients waited more than the regulation four hours to be seen and treated in Scotland’s casualty departments in the last week of the year. More than 1100 waited more than eight hours and 272 waited more than 12 hours.
A flood of flu cases and falls because of icy roads brought A&Es under siege and only 78 per cent of patients were treated within the four-hour target time – the worst figures since the weekly monitoring began in 2015.
Yesterday, Bennie paid tribute to NHS staff but said: “To be honest, it is not thanks that doctors and their colleagues want.
“Instead of gratitude, we need a long-term, sustainable plan that closes the growing gap between resources – in particular finances – and the demand for services. We must not simply dismiss this as the inevitable increase in pressure that winter brings.
“This time of year can bring the challenges the NHS faces on a daily basis into a sharper focus.
“But ultimately, there is simply not the funding or plans in place to go on as we are, regardless of what season we are in. Patients deserve better. That is why there must be action.”