NHS facing ‘dangerous mix’ of rising waiting times and record vacancies – Sarwar

The Scottish Labour leader raised the issue with Nicola Sturgeon at First Minister’s Questions.

Anas Sarwar hit out at the Scottish Government over rising waiting lists and NHS staff vacancies (PA) (PA Archive)

Scotland’s NHS is facing a “dangerous mix” of growing waiting lists and staff shortages but the Government’s recovery plan will not improve the situation, Anas Sarwar has warned.

The Scottish Labour leader challenged the First Minister about increasing numbers of people waiting for treatment and record levels of nursing and midwifery vacancies.

At First Minister’s Questions, Mr Sarwar said Labour’s analysis of the Scottish Government’s NHS recovery strategy indicates there will be 11,000 more patients waiting for an outpatient appointment in four years’ time than there is today.

Public Health Scotland figures last week showed more than 680,000 people are currently on waiting lists – up from 450,000 before the coronavirus pandemic.

I don't believe there are sufficient staff in the NHS, which is why the SNP manifesto at the election this time last year committed to an additional 1,500 staff being recruited

Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister

Mr Sarwar said it means one in eight Scots are currently waiting for hospital appointments, diagnoses and procedures, while thousands of vacant posts have created a “dangerous mix of growing waiting lists and record staff shortages”.

He added: “The question is not if we have more staff, it’s whether we have enough staff.”

Nicola Sturgeon argued that the Government had been “making progress in reducing waiting times before the pandemic”, but she agreed there are not enough staff in the NHS.

She pointed to record levels of staffing in the health service but said there are “serious recruitment challenges for the NHS in Scotland” that are being exacerbated by Brexit.

Ms Sturgeon said: “We want to get the NHS back on to a normal footing so that it can see patients more quickly and start to reduce those waiting times, and the Government is really focused on that.

“I don’t believe there are sufficient staff in the NHS, which is why the SNP manifesto at the election this time last year committed to an additional 1,500 staff being recruited on top of the record number we already have in place, and we are working hard to ensure that we can meet those recruitment targets.

“We are focused on the NHS recovery plan of building capacity in our NHS by 10% to help with that recovery process and making sure that existing staff are well supported, that they are as well paid as we can deliver within our resources and that we recruit more NHS staff.”

Referencing Scottish Labour analysis of the recovery plan, Mr Sarwar said: “Even if you managed to deliver all the promised increases to activity, waiting lists will actually still continue to grow in four years’ time by the end of the Government’s recovery plan.

“There could be over 430,000 patients waiting for an outpatient appointment – that is 11,000 more than are waiting today.

“At the same time, the same is true for inpatient procedures. Under the Government’s plan, as many as 153,000 people could be on a waiting list – that is 30,000 more than are waiting today.

“A catch-up plan surely means less people rather than more people on the waiting list.

“After 15 years of neglecting our NHS, is the best the First Minister has to offer a flawed recovery plan that will actually make waiting lists longer?”