More Scots than ever are waiting over a year to begin hospital treatment, while thousands are experiencing delays of 24 hours in accident and emergency (A&E) departments.
An analysis of official figures by The Times has revealed the scale of issues facing the health service, despite rising healthcare budgets over the last decade.
The equivalent of one in seven Scots are on a waiting list for hospital care or diagnostic tests, the latest figures show. Compared with before the Covid pandemic, Public Health Scotland found the number of patients waiting for treatment “has more than doubled” from average levels seen across quarters in 2019.
Jackie Baillie, the Scottish Labour spokeswoman for health, said: “Neil Gray may be mere weeks into his new job but it is clear that he has inherited a perfect storm from his incompetent predecessors.
“SNP mismanagement of our NHS has led to spiralling waits, rising inpatient waiting times and people languishing in pain and in danger in A&E departments.”
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Alex Cole-Hamilton, the Scottish Liberal Democrat leader, said the data showed that “voting SNP is bad for your health”.
The six graphics below lay bare the present state of Scotland’s health service. Hover over or click the lines or bars in each chart to reveal more details.
State of emergency
Waiting more than 12 hours in emergency departments used to be almost unheard of. In December 2009, just 22 patients passed that threshold. But in December 2023, the figure was 6,467, according to figures from Public Health Scotland.
Some wait even longer. About 7,400 people waited more than a full day (24 hours) in A&E in the whole of 2023, data revealed through freedom of information requests shows, compared with 4,000 in 2022 and just a handful before the pandemic.
Delayed service
More than 1,650 patients have been on a waiting list for hospital care for over three years. The total hospital waiting list, as of the end of 2023, stands at 609,243, about 40 per cent higher than the same period four years ago.
History of failure
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The NHS in Scotland has long had a target for nine in ten patients to be treated within four and a half months of being referred to hospital by a GP.
The target has not been met since June 2014, and the figure currently stands at two thirds, lower than the worst point of the pandemic. England’s NHS last met its similar target in September 2015.
Extended pain
Diagnostic tests, such as MRI or CT scans, are crucial for catching illnesses early. But since the pandemic, NHS waiting times have reached unprecedented highs. The latest figures show a small improvement on previous months — but more than 3,500 are still waiting for over a year.
Behind the times
Higher funding and more staff have not led to an increase in treatments delivered by Scotland’s NHS. The rapid fall in hospital activity during the pandemic has yet to recover.
Bloated budget
The recurring demand from campaigners and opposition parties after seeing sub-par NHS performance is to spend more. The pandemic saw exactly that and although the latest year has seen a drop in inflation-adjusted spending, the level is still far higher than pre-pandemic costs.