This winter has seen the NHS in a crisis unmatched in recent memory. A lack of investment has seen many practices struggling to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, while a lack of doctors and paramedics has seen waiting times for both A&E and emergency response services rising to record levels.
NHS performance reports showed that under 60% of accident and emergency, patients were seen within 4 hours in the second and third weeks of December, a record low that highlights the increasing pressure placed on the NHS since the 2021 lockdown ended in Spring 2021 when 85% of A&E patients were seen within 4 hours. Furthermore, 15% of patients were left waiting for over 8 hours, while 7% waited 12 hours to receive treatment a new record. NHS practices in the Central Belt, covering the most people, reported the longest wait times, with NHS Forth Valley, Lanarkshire and Greater Glasgow falling below the national average for the length of A&E wait.
The crisis the NHS is currently in goes beyond A&E wait times. Due to a lack of available space, many patients are having to wait in ambulances outside hospitals, often in cold conditions. This is detrimental to both the patient in need of care, as well as those who may be unable to call an ambulance due to this backlog. Overall, the increased wait times and unprecedented strain on emergency services are estimated to lead to 50 preventable deaths a week over the winter, a damning figure for the Scottish Government.
It is vital that health services in Scotland receive the support they require from the Government, in order to properly recover from the pandemic and to deliver high-quality healthcare for the entire population. Therefore, supporting the NHS should be a priority of the Scottish Government in 2023, instead of continuing to divide the Scottish population with empty rhetoric.