Labour: SNP failing over waiting lists
A legal guarantee for NHS patients to be treated within 12 weeks has been broken more than 150,000 times since its introduction, Labour analysis has found.
The 12-week treatment time guarantee was introduced by the Scottish Government in 2012 for patients with planned inpatient or day-case treatment.
Analysis of official statistics shows it has been broken more than 35,000 times so far this year, and 153,170 since its introduction.
In the first six months of the year, 24.8% of patients waited longer than 12 weeks, compared to 18.3% for the same period last year.
Labour’s health spokesman Anas Sarwar said: “This is more than another broken promise from the SNP – these rights were written into law and are now being broken on what appears to be a daily basis.
“Many patients across Scotland will conclude this law simply is not worth the paper it is written on.
“With performance appearing to get worse, we need to see some proper action from the SNP Government, with a plan to solve the NHS workforce crisis.”
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: “NHS investment and staffing are at historically high levels.
“Furthermore, since the introduction of our treatment time guarantee, more than 1.6 million patients have been treated within the 12-week target.”