Hospital treatment waiting times ‘should shame First Minister’ says Kezia Dugdale

Patients had a better chance of being treated in hospital within 12 weeks before the Scottish Government brought in its legally-binding Treatment Time Guarantee, Labour leader Kezia Dugdale said.

She attacked the First Minister for the SNP's “10-year dismal record'' of running the NHS, saying more than 38,000 patients had been left waiting too long in the last year alone.

The Patient Rights (Scotland) Act, brought in by the SNP and which came into force in October 2012, established a 12-week maximum waiting time for eligible patients on the list for hospital treatment.

Ms Dugdale told the First Minster: “Labour can reveal today that patients actually had a better chance of being treated within 12 weeks before the SNP introduced the legal guarantee.''

Challenged on the issue at First Minister's Questions, Ms Sturgeon conceded: “We are seeing more patients wait longer than we would want them to wait, including for the Treatment Time Guarantee of 12 weeks.''

Ms Dugdale said figures which show that “in the last year alone, more than 38,000 patients waited longer than 12 weeks'' should “shame the First Minister''.

She added: “Behind these numbers are people and real lives. It's pensioners, it's children and parents waiting for months for operations.

“This isn't the only problem facing the NHS, this week alone we've seen A&E targets missed again, cancer diagnostic waiting times missed again. The British Medical Association told us staff shortages are the reason for falling standards in our hospitals and Cancer Research said patients are waiting too long.

“All growing evidence of the SNP's 10-year mismanagement of the NHS. So when will the First Minister focus on the day job and start fixing the mess she has made of our NHS?''

She continued her attack, saying the “reality'' in Scotland is “standards in our hospitals are down, staff are overworked and underpaid, and tens of thousands of people are waiting longer for treatment''.

She added: “Isn't that what happens when the SNP spends more time running a campaign for a referendum than it does running our NHS?''

Ms Sturgeon responded: “We should have a competition in First Minister's Questions to see who is the first one to get the referendum word in, because most weeks it isn't me that mentions it.''

She went on: “If that is Labour's attack then how does Labour explain that almost every indicator you can point to, the NHS in Scotland, under an SNP Government, is doing significantly better than the NHS in Wales under a Labour Government, what's Labour's excuse?

“We will continue to focus on delivering for people across the country and leave the opposition to their constitutional obsessions.''

She said there was “a situation in our NHS that many health services have of increasing demand''.

Ms Sturgeon said: “I acknowledge the challenges facing our NHS - the same challenges that are facing health services across the world, increasing demand because of the changing demographics.

“But I also have to say in so many ways, looking at so many indicators, the performance of the NHS far outstrips the performance of the NHS in any other part of the UK - and in particular on almost every indicator you can look at the performance of NHS Scotland outstrips the performance of the NHS in Labour-run Wales.''

She added: “I will acknowledge readily the pressures our NHS staff work under and thank them for what they do, but I think occasionally, just once in a while, the opposition parties should also recognise the good work that is being done in our NHS and the fact that it is doing so much better than other parts of the UK.''