Women facing "appalling" waitlists for hysterectomies
Some women in Scotland are waiting nearly four years for the procedure
Some women in Scotland are being forced to wait nearly four years for a hysterectomy, according to figures obtained by Scottish Labour.
The party are accusing the Scottish Government of “failing” patients who are waiting for the procedure.
One NHS Lanarkshire patient was on the list for 1,392 days, with another at NHS Tayside waiting for 1,274 days before being able to have the surgery, during which the uterus is removed.
Labour women’s health spokesperson Carol Mochan is warning the delays could “put women’s health at risk”.
She said: “Every day spent waiting for surgery is another day that women are being forced to suffer in agony, anxiety, and exhaustion.
"The worrying length of some of these waits has and will continue to put women's health at risk, but nothing will get any better while the SNP continue to sit on their hands.
"We can no longer use the pandemic as an excuse for failing women in need.”
The South Scotland MSP added appointing Professor Anna Glasier as the country’s first women’s health champion had not resulted in enough action.
She said: “When Professor Glasier, the women's health champion took up her post in January this year, it offered the opportunity for change in tackling years of neglect women's healthcare has faced.
"The SNP must get a grip on the appalling long waits for treatment experienced by women with a proper catch up plan for women-specific specialities, and get serious about reversing the health inequalities women are forced to endure."
The data also shows in the NHS Borders area, the longest waits for a hysterectomy have risen by 1,130% since 2018-19 - going from 50 days to 715.
Labour said that of the 10,000-plus women on the gynaecological wait list across Scotland, there are 3,300 who have waited at least a year.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "We are working with NHS Boards to reduce long waits, which have been exacerbated by the impacts of the global pandemic.
"This includes targets to address long waits and delivery of the commitments in our £1 billion NHS Recovery Plan to support an increase in inpatient, day-case, and outpatient activity.
"We know there are unacceptable waits in some specialities and are committed to ensuring patients receive treatment as soon as possible.
"Two National Treatment Centres opened this year in Fife and Highland, with two further centres opening soon in Forth Valley and the Golden Jubilee, providing additional protected capacity for patients across Scotland.
"In each of the next three years, we will provide NHS Boards with £100 million to help reduce inpatient and day-case waiting lists by an estimated 100,000 patients and deliver year on year reductions."