As SNP turns their fire on each other, Scotland's NHS is being destroyed – Jackie Baillie

It has been, how can I say this, an arresting news week.

Scotland has been rocked by yet another SNP political scandal which looks like swallowing whole the reputation of the last First Minister and, if they’re not lucky, the political party that put her in power. There had already been a sea change in Scottish politics before Nicola Sturgeon announced her sudden resignation. There was a surge for change evidenced in the mood of voters and reflected in tightening polls showing Labour closing the gap on the SNP.

But Ms Sturgeon’s shock departure shaped the restlessness and frustration into a cresting wave. Subsequent events have brought it ashore as a tsunami of scandal. The arrest, last Wednesday morning, of Peter Murrell – the former chief executive of the SNP and husband of Nicola Sturgeon – was what morning news producers call a “marmalade dropper”.

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Just days after a self-aggrandising farewell, the former First Minister went into hiding while her husband answered police questions for most of the day about allegedly missing funds from the party that she led. Mr Murrell was released without charge and Nicola Sturgeon emerged at the weekend to make a driveway statement, promising to cooperate with the investigation. The suburban setting added to the surreal atmosphere. This was hardly the image two people projected as Scotland’s “power couple” days beforehand would want to project.

In light of the fall-out, including the understatement of the year from SNP president Mike Russell that independence cannot be achieved “right now”, that forensic blue police tent, CSI in Uddingston, should actually be viewed as a field hospital for a fatally wounded political project.

As rumour and recrimination flew back and forth, it took the spotlight away from the true scandal at the heart of last week in Scottish politics. On Tuesday, the worst cancer statistics on record were released. New figures from Public Health Scotland showed performance was the lowest since records began a decade ago.

The shameful stats recorded that not a single health board met the SNP government’s 62-day treatment standard. In fact, this standard has not been met nationally since 2012, some 11 years ago. The target was missed for every form of cancer – from breast to bowel – with prostate referrals taking the longest.

Thousands of Scots living with cancer have had to face long, painful and stressful waits for treatment, knowing the illness remains Scotland’s biggest killer. There can be few Scots who have not been touched by cancer, either directly or indirectly. People we know live and sometimes die with the stress of the illness each day. For there to be no progress at all on treatment times brings disgrace to a modern nation and is a dereliction of duty by a failing government.

A police vehicle reverses into a tent outside the home of Peter Murrell, former chief executive of the Scottish National Party (SNP), and his wife, former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon (Picture: Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images)A police vehicle reverses into a tent outside the home of Peter Murrell, former chief executive of the Scottish National Party (SNP), and his wife, former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon (Picture: Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images)
A police vehicle reverses into a tent outside the home of Peter Murrell, former chief executive of the Scottish National Party (SNP), and his wife, former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon (Picture: Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images)

Over the last seven years, there have been no fewer than four cancer plans launched. None of them have improved treatment for patients or improved patient outcomes. The latest ten-year cancer plan is due out – but where is it? As of last week, there is no cancer recovery plan.

The worn-out excuses of the pandemic and the winter waiting-times crisis simply do not wash and if ministers won’t listen to the opposition, they must listen to the leading cancer campaign groups. Cancer Research UK's public affairs manager in Scotland, Dr Sorcha Hume, said the figures highlighted the scale of the challenge. “We know that the NHS experienced significant pressures during the winter and is working hard to bring down the backlog of people waiting for a cancer diagnosis but these figures are the worst on record,” she said, adding: “Urgent action is needed.” That is no understatement.

Cancer waiting times are not the only scandal in our NHS. A&E, delayed discharge and other treatment waiting times are in disarray and the person directly responsible has walked away from the operating table. The new First Minister – the definition of a rabbit caught in the headlights – is directly responsible for this crisis. He’s quit health for what he thought was the gilded throne and landed his problems on the desk of the new Health Secretary, Michael Matheson.

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My sympathies go to Mr Matheson. It speaks volumes about the character of Humza Yousaf that he is leaving patients high and dry and forcing his successor to clean up the mess he has made of the NHS. Frankly, Scotland deserves better than a First Minister who is out of his depth and a directionless party mired in scandal and running away from the problems they have created. I’ve no doubt that the rumours and recriminations within the SNP will continue to dominate the airwaves for weeks to come while the scandal of cancer waiting times continues to sap the resilience of patients and healthcare professionals.

At another time, we could expect the nationalist wagons to gather in the round and start a defensive fight back. But the SNP leadership is beginning to look like a circular firing squad ready to destroy itself – having destroyed our most precious public service. That won’t happen with Scottish Labour and we won’t allow it to happen to the people of Scotland. Let the SNP sink in its own mire, we’re going to be working to earn the trust of voters and working to improve the lives of everyone in Scotland.

Jackie Baillie is MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour’s deputy leader and her party’s spokesperson for health

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