Health Secretary Humza Yousaf under fire as NHS waiting list continues to grow

More than 70,000 Scots have been waiting more than a year for NHS treatment or for an outpatient appointment at hospital, new figures have revealed.

It comes as the number of Scots on NHS waiting lists – either for treatment, a hospital appointment or diagnostic testing – reached almost 750,000.

Official figures from Public Health Scotland (PHS) showed at the end of June this year there were 139,584 people who were waiting to be admitted to hospital for treatment – with 451,020 on the list for an outpatient appointment.

Separate figures published by PHS last week showed there were 157,289 waiting for key diagnostic tests – taking the total to 747,893.

Scottish Health Secretary Humza Yousaf speaks to the media following a visit to the MTC (major trauma centre), at the Royal Infirmary Of Edinburgh, to mark the first year of the Scottish Trauma Network. Picture date: Monday August 29, 2022.

Of those waiting for hospital treatment, the data showed 35,359 have been on the list for more than 52 weeks – with the total waiting this long up from 30,992 at the end of March 2022.

Patients are waiting more than a year despite the Scottish Government having introduced a legally binding treatment time guarantee – which states eligible patients must start receiving treatment within 12 weeks from that treatment being agreed.

Meanwhile, the figures also showed at as of June 30 2022, 36,282 people had been waiting a year or more for an outpatient appointment – with this total having increased from 29,240 three months before.

The number of people waiting to be admitted to hospital for treatment is now 81.2% than the quarterly average recorded in 2019 – before the Covid pandemic struck.

PHS explained the rise, stating: “This growth reflects that, although both the number of referrals for treatment and the number of admissions have yet to return fully to pre-pandemic levels, the number of referrals each month has often exceeded the number of patients being removed from lists, either because they were admitted for treatment or removed for other reasons.”

Regarding the increase in people waiting for outpatient appointments, the Public Health Scotland report stated that the rise in the list is “due to more patients being added to the list and fewer patients being removed”.

It noted: “The waiting list at the latest quarter end is 46.4% higher than the average at the end of quarters in 2019 (308,169).”

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said the number of people on waiting lists was now “eye-wateringly high”, adding that “the equivalent of almost one in seven Scots are now waiting for treatment”.

He insisted Health Secretary Humza Yousaf should “rip up his NHS Recovery Plan and start again”, adding the current arrangement “is clearly not working, and staff and patients deserve better”.

The Tories also demanded action, with health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane stating: “Nothing better demonstrates the inadequacy of Humza Yousaf’s flimsy Covid Recovery Plan than these alarming stats.

“They reveal that the SNP Health Secretary is destined to fall short in his target to eliminate two-year waiting times.

“It’s unacceptable that any patient should have to wait that long for treatment – and the NHS in England has already managed to all but eradicate waits in excess of 24 months now that the pandemic is behind us.

“Yet, here in Scotland, the SNP’s mismanagement of our NHS and dire workforce planning means that they won’t be able to guarantee the same for all Scottish patients, despite having promised they would. It’s simply not good enough.”

Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie meanwhile claimed Mr Yousaf was “missing in action” after having “plunged almost every aspect of our NHS into chaos just before winter starts to bite”.

Ms Baillie said: “Make no mistake, this incompetent Health Secretary’s failure to support our NHS and those who work in it will lead to lives being lost this winter.”

Mr Yousaf said the pausing of non-urgent NHS activity during the Covid pandemic had “inevitably led to a build-up of numbers waiting for treatment” adding that “services continue to experience significant pressure as a result of this”.

Speaking about the latest waiting time figures, the Health Secretary stated: “These statistics show that those patients with the greatest needs were treated quickest.

“However, this has led to a growing number of less clinically urgent patients waiting longer for treatment as a result of the pandemic.”

He continued: “We recognise the impact long waiting times can have and this is why we announced ambitious waiting times targets in early July to address the backlog of planned care and are working hard with NHS boards to maximise capacity in order to meet these.

“Despite the continued pressure on services, the data shows a significant increase in the number of inpatient and day case patients seen compared to the previous quarter, an increase of 7.6% (3,531 patients).”