After 13 years in power, the SNP are faced with a laundry list of failures in areas ranging from education to the economy. But perhaps where they have done the most damage is public health. There has been a notable decline in the quality of healthcare provision over recent years. This is reflected in both patient experience and statistical data. The current COVID-19 pandemic has brought these problems to the fore, but it is important to remember that they have been present for years. The Scottish Conservatives should continue to hold Nicola Sturgeon to account over this issue, as well as offer a viable alternative.
NHS Tayside patients suffering from chronic pain have faced long waiting times, according to Public Health Scotland. Almost 70% have to wait more than 18 weeks for an initial appointment. Conservative MSP Liz Smith has described these waiting times as ‘very concerning’ and has urged the Scottish Government to deal with the backlog as soon as possible. A similar story has unfolded in Lanarkshire which has recorded the worst A&E waiting times in Scotland. Once again opposition MSPs such as Graham Simpson have been calling the Government out and demanding additional resources for the NHS health board.
In Glasgow, the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital was plagued by a series of preventable infections. And there was an outcry over the deaths of three patients between December 2018 and February 2019. The Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh was scheduled to open months ago, yet due to administrative errors, the project is both delayed and over-budget.
More recently the SNP has faced criticism for its attitude towards the BAME community during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (CRER) has strongly criticised the Scottish Government for lagging behind the rest of the UK in its collection of vital data on the effects of COVID in minority ethnic populations. Early on in the pandemic the UK Government was already publishing detailed reports on how and why BAME people are disproportionally impacted. Around the same time, the Scottish Government was unresponsive to questions relating to this critical issue.
Before COVID-19, the drug deaths epidemic was seen as the most pressing public health problem in Scotland. Under the SNP addiction services have faced significant cutbacks, now we have a drug death rate double that of England. This has fed into the terrifying reality that life expectancy in Scotland is two years lower than the rest of the UK.
In the end, this life expectancy difference alone is damning evidence that the SNP has completely and utterly failed to provide Scots with adequate healthcare. The Cabinet Secretary for Health Jeane Freeman has already announced she will stand down at the next Scottish election. The Conservatives have so far done an excellent job at holding the Government to account over its appauling record. But they need to make sure that come the May 2021, voters know that there is a better way forward.