Scotland's shocking cancer treatment waiting times suggest the SNP still doesn't understand how important the NHS is – Scotsman comment

Given one in two people will get cancer at some point in their lives, the ability of the NHS to provide the best treatment is in the interests of the entire nation.

Few will be fortunate enough to be entirely untouched by this terrible disease, whether as a patient or as a relative of one. So new figures showing that nearly 30 per cent of eligible cancer patients had to wait longer than the target of 62 days to start their treatment are not just the latest bureaucratic announcement of the Scottish Government’s failure to deal with the NHS crisis, this is deeply personal to us all.

The speed with which cancer is treated is a key factor in the chance of survival. Behind these figures will be people desperate with worry about their condition, and others grieving for lost loved ones, who might otherwise have lived for many more years.

In response, the new Health Secretary Michael Matheson stressed cancer “remains a national priority for the NHS and Scottish Government”, saying there would be a new ten-year strategy this spring. But the last time the target for 95 per cent of eligible patients to wait no longer than 62 days – from an urgent referral on suspicion of cancer to the first treatment – was met was in 2012. Whatever has been done in an attempt to address this problem by his predecessors, including Humza Yousaf, has failed. Why should we think that the newly installed Matheson will do any better?

For more than a decade, we have had repeated assurances and promises that things are about to get better. Covid caused huge disruption, but cannot be used as an excuse forever. If the SNP’s failure to fix the NHS is not a matter of political will, that suggests the problem has been a lack of competence. But, whatever the reasons, Matheson’s plan must start to turn things around.

Most of us understand that at some point the state of the NHS could be a matter of life and death. But it seems that some politicians still do not realise just how seriously the public takes this issue and how much people are willing to sacrifice to ensure that the NHS will be there for them and their families when the time comes.