Crisis in NHS ‘being swept under carpet’ by Sturgeon

NICOLA Sturgeon was yesterday accused of sweeping Scotland’s NHS crisis under the carpet as she tried to deflect criticism over a damning report.

An annual review found the health service is ‘struggling’ and that the health of Scots is ‘not improving’.

In the report, published yesterday, the Auditor General warned that more patients are waiting longer to be seen and most waiting time targets are not being met.

But when opponents attacked the First Minister on the issue, she instead pointed at healthcare problems south of the Border.

Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson was the first to raise yesterday’s Audit Scotland report at First Minister’s Questions, claiming it highlights how the Scottish Government is ‘struggling to do the basics’.

Miss Davidson said the SNP government was failing to tackle growing problems including waiting times and a recruitment crisis.

She added auditors had identified a lack of data to allow a proper workforce plan to be drawn up – an issue she said was having a ‘real and immediate effect’ on primary care.

‘Today we’ve had a report from the nation’s auditor saying that health in Scotland is not improving and that huge inequalities remain, that there’s been a 99 per cent rise in the number of outpatients waiting more than 12 weeks in the last year alone,’ she said.

‘The SNP set their own targets to make things better but they have improved in only one in the last five years.’

Miss Sturgeon admitted the NHS in Scotland is facing ‘big challenges’ but claimed it is performing better ‘than the NHS in any other part of the UK’ because of SNP initiatives.

However, Miss Davidson said the First Minister was trying to ‘sweep

‘Spiralling out of control’

under the carpet’ significant issues with heathcare.

Scottish Labour’s interim leader Alex Rowley said the Scottish Government is ‘not doing enough and is not moving fast enough’ according to the review.

He said it highlights increased use of agency staff and locums, unsustainable increases in prescribing costs and a lack of workforce planning, adding: ‘The whole thing is spiralling out of control.’

Miss Sturgeon said Scotland was enacting reforms that were being ‘dodged’ elsewhere in the UK but accused opposition MSPs of often being ‘impediments to change’.