SCOTTISH Labour has accused First Minister Humza Yousaf of “desperately” blaming Covid for NHS woes.

Hitting out at the SNP’s record ahead of a Holyrood NHS debate, Scottish Labour’s Jackie Baillie said: “Unfortunately — and rather desperately, in my view — Humza Yousaf stands in the Parliament chamber each week and peddles the myth that the pandemic is the sole cause of the NHS’s woes.

“This is simply untrue. The facts speak for themselves.

“This SNP government has not met its 62-day performance target for starting cancer treatment across Scotland since 2012, and the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services target for 90 per cent of children and young people to start treatment within 18 weeks of referral has never been met.”

BMA Scotland chairman Dr Iain Kennedy warned: “We are now seeing the founding principle of the NHS, namely that it should be free at the point of need, threatened.

“This is the inevitable consequence of years of ducking the hard decisions.”

SNP Health Secretary Neil Gray has signalled he is open to greater private-sector involvement in the NHS.

He said: “The fundamentals of Scotland’s NHS will not change — we remain committed to free access to healthcare.”