Winter mortality rises after years of SNP NHS neglect

Responding to a new National Records of Scotland publication showing that there were 24,427 deaths registered in Scotland in the four months of winter 2022/23 (December 2022 to March 2023), 11 per cent higher than the previous winter and the highest number in over thirty years, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

"The SNP have badly neglected health and care services while they selfishly pursue the break up of the UK.

"Both NHS staff and patients know that Humza Yousaf's NHS recovery plan is not fit for purpose. He has failed to set the NHS up to recover from the pandemic and failed to plan ahead to tackle issues like dementia which are placing a greater and greater burden on care services.

"Scottish Liberal Democrats are bursting with ideas to tackle the real issues Scots face every day. We need a national insulation programme to warm up homes and bring down bills. We need an NHS burnout plan to prevent staff leaving the profession and we need better pay and conditions for social care so that it becomes a profession of choice."