Scotland editor

FIRST Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been told today that health workers in Scotland are understaffed and overworked, with Scottish Labour warning that growing NHS waiting lists are a humiliation for the government. 

The SNP leader came under pressure from opposition leaders during First Minister’s Questions at Holyrood as Ms Sturgeon was forced to defend the support given to staff in the health sector. 

Earlier this week, Scotland’s accident and emergency waiting times hit a record high for the third week running, with more than 24,000 people waiting more than four hours. 

The number of patients on NHS Scotland waiting lists for treatment also rose to over 600,000. 

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said that health workers have been undervalued, with the result that the NHS is now in crisis. He called for a genuine effort to rebuild the service across Scotland. 

Mr Sarwar said: “These long lists are meaning more complicated cases are arriving at A&E. This month was the worst [for] A&E waiting times since records began.

“In the past 18 months, our NHS staff have performed remarkably under pressure. But even before this pandemic, they were undervalued, under-resourced and overworked.”

Ms Sturgeon acknowledged that it is the responsibility of the government to ensure that staff could get through the current crisis, with Covid-19 having had a significant impact on services. 

The government is looking to increase capacity over the current parliament, she said, adding that Scotland’s NHS Recovery Plan is providing record funding for the NHS, including the highest pay rise for healthcare staff since devolution was introduced. 

Mr Sarwar said that over 450,000 people had been on waiting lists before the pandemic and called for a genuine recovery plan for the NHS.