NHS waiting list is still more than 860,000 long

28 Nov 2024

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP today called on the Health Secretary to rewrite the failed NHS Recovery Plan as statistics revealed that 863,535 people were stuck on an NHS waiting list.

Public Health Scotland statistics published today show:

  • 138,782  patients were waiting to be seen for eight key diagnostic tests at the end of September
  • 568,561 were still waiting on an outpatient list at the quarter ending 30th September 2024
  • 156,192 patients were still waiting on an inpatient lists at the quarter ending 30th September 2024
  • Nicola Sturgeon’s Treatment Time Guarantee was broken for more than 130,000 Scots.

Alex Cole-Hamilton commented:

“These extremely long waits will be agonising for patients. They deserve better.

“This SNP government have only themselves to blame for their mismanagement of our health service. They have failed our hardworking NHS staff, who haven’t got the beds, safe staffing and resources they desperately need.

“As we enter the winter months, it is crucial that the Health Secretary acts now and does not repeat the failures of his predecessors. He must therefore rewrite Humza Yousaf's botched NHS Recovery Plan. To help more people leave hospital on time, the Liberal Democrats are also demanding a new UK-wide minimum wage for care workers that is £2 higher. You can’t fix the NHS without fixing care."

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