Scots 'remortgaging their homes' to fund private health care, MPs told

Scottish patients are “borrowing money and re-mortgaging their homes to go private” and skip NHS waiting lists north of the border, an MP has claimed.

Elaine Stewart, the Labour MP for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock, told the Commons: “Almost one in six Scots are stuck on an NHS waiting list. People are borrowing money and remortgaging their homes to go private because they can’t bear the pain.”

She claimed the SNP in Holyrood had “abandoned the principles of NHS care at the point of entry”.

Hospitals throughout England are at near full capacity. See PA story . Photo from: Peter Byrne/PA Wire.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting replied: “I strongly agree with (Ms Stewart) and, as I said during the general election campaign, and quoted regularly by the SNP, all roads lead to Westminster and down that road from Westminster is a record increase in funding for the Scottish Government through the Barnett formula.”

Turning to Scottish plans for NHS recovery, Mr Streeting continued: “I know some have expressed concerns at the lack of detail on plans to drive down waiting times.

“The Scottish people can therefore compare and contrast with the ambition of our elective reform plan announced by the Prime Minister (Sir Keir Starmer) yesterday and then decide at the next Scottish elections who they trust to govern – the SNP with their rotten record, or a Labour government that will get on and deliver.”