The NHS will come under pressure this winter, the First Minister has said, as he was accused of allowing the service to reach “breaking point”.
John Swinney told MSPs at First Minister’s Questions on Thursday that the Chief Medical Officer has warned him the flu season will be “particularly challenging” this year and could see services struggling over the winter months.
NHS performance in recent years has consistently worsened during the winter.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar hit out at the Scottish Government ahead of Health Secretary Neil Gray’s announcement later on Thursday of his plan for winter preparedness in the NHS, saying the service has an “SNP problem”, rather than a seasonal one.
Under questioning from the Labour leader, the First Minister said: “Of course there are enormous pressures on A&E, and one of the issues – I was briefed about it on Tuesday by the Chief Medical Officer – is that the expectation is that the flu season will be particularly challenging for us this winter, which is to do with the prevailing strain of flu that is emerging.
“So there is going to be pressure on our emergency services which are about the pressures that are coming because of wider health considerations.”
Mr Sarwar criticised the Scottish Government for winter preparedness, saying delayed discharges have remained roughly the same in the past year.
“The truth is, every part of our NHS is at breaking point and all because of this SNP Government,” he said.
“Let’s look at John Swinney’s record. On his watch, the NHS is now in permanent crisis; hundreds more operations cancelled this year than last year; thousands more patients facing unacceptable A&E waits; ambulances waiting hours outside of A&E; thousands forced to re-mortgage homes or borrow from family to go private; hundreds of thousands waiting in pain and anxiety on NHS waiting lists.
“Put simply, our NHS is not safe in John Swinney’s hands – this isn’t a winter crisis, it’s an SNP crisis and it’s putting lives at risk.
“Doesn’t this disastrous record show that we must make this the last winter the SNP are in charge of our NHS?”
The First Minister said waiting times for treatment have come down and activity in the health service has increased, adding: “I’ve focused, since I became First Minister, on ensuring that I strengthen the NHS to make sure it meets the needs of the people of Scotland.
“I think if anybody is looking around just now wondering what the prospect of a Labour government might be like in Scotland after the elections in May, they will see the very, very disappointing spectacle of the UK Labour Government.”
The First Minister attacked Sir Keir Starmer’s administration for cutting the winter fuel payment and taking “no action” on the two-child benefit cap, as well as the “chaos” seen earlier this week when allies of the Prime Minister briefed against UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting.
