Cole-Hamilton: Scotland’s NHS under waves of pressure

Following a series of new statistics revealing long waiting lists, gaps in dental provision and pressure on social care services, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has said that the SNP has completely run out of ideas for how to address the crisis in our NHS.

New figures from Public Health Scotland show that:

• The total waiting list for the eight key diagnostic tests was 133,386 as at 31st December 2024. This is 52% higher than it was at the end of December 2019 when there were 87,543 waits ongoing just prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• This waiting list is despite £9.7 billion being spent on NHS operating services in 2023/24. That is the highest spend of this kind as a proportion of total NHS operating costs since 2015/16.
• 6,421 people were estimated to be waiting on a social care assessment.
• People in deprived areas are least likely to have contact with NHS primary dental care.

On diagnostic tests, Mr Cole-Hamilton said:

“These tests are vital for getting people swiftly diagnosed and treated.

“With Scottish waiting lists now lagging well behind England, there is a real limit to how long SNP health secretaries can hide behind the pandemic. The Scottish Government’s stalled progress on national treatment centres is actively making things worse.

“Our NHS is under waves of pressure, but spinning Neil Gray’s latest travails is about the sum total of the government’s creativity. Ultimately, putting the NHS on a steady footing and bringing down waits is going to require a change of government.”

On social care, he said:

“When so many people can’t get care at home or in the community, hospitals become overwhelmed and waiting times shoot up.

“For four years, the SNP wasted £30 million on a bureaucratic, ministerial power grab of social care which they have been forced to junk. That was money that could have paid the salaries of 1,200 care workers.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats are the party of care. We want to see a new UK-wide minimum wage for care workers that is £2 higher, getting people the help they need and easing pressure across the health service.”

On dental care, he added:

“On the SNP’s watch, NHS dentistry is going into hiding.

“Toothcare should be like any other form of medical treatment: universally accessible and close to home.

“Ministers need to listen to Liberal Democrat calls to rewrite their botched NHS Recovery Plan so that it prioritises workforce planning and boosts the number of dentists taking on NHS patients.”