Today’s Scottish government budget was tax-rise heavy – to the dismay of both individual earners and businesses — in the name of public service support. But while finance secretary Shona Robison spoke of her government’s ‘values’ of equality, opportunity and community, as well as the importance of its ‘social contract with the people of Scotland’, she failed to acknowledge the state her country’s public services are in.
Robison mentioned the NHS over ten times throughout her speech, using it to justify the contents of today’s budget. But Scotland’s health service is struggling more than ever; some hospitals are so congested that it is becoming the norm for dozens of patients to spend the night in corridors. Others have been given ‘wireless doorbells‘ to call for help during busy times.
While the Barnett formula ensures that people in Scotland receive more spending per head than those in England, the country’s NHS continues to underperform. Simply funnelling more money into the service — without clear direction as to how it can be better spent and how current backlogs will be dealt with — is not a good use of funds. Robison might think her ‘NHS-first’ strategy will convince voters to see the benefits of her budget, but in truth both patients and doctors are fed up of empty promises that only lead to worsening conditions. And Robison’s new 45 per cent tax band for those earning between £75,000 and £125,000 (with the top rate at 48 per cent) risks disincentivising skilled workers. The NHS is facing a workforce crisis and yet this move could persuade more medics to work south of the border — where they can keep more of their income.
To suggest that the measures announced into today’s budget are necessary to protect the health service seems at best ignorant and at worst disingenuous, particularly given the Scottish government’s questionable track record on NHS performance.
Here are graphs which illustrate the Scottish government is failing the NHS and its patients:
- A&E waiting times:
The NHS Scotland’s target is to ensure 95 per cent of all patients who present to emergency departments are seen within the first four hours. Instead, in October of this year, only 68 per cent of patients were seen within this time: almost a third less.
- Bed-blocking:
At the other end of the hospital conveyer belt, there were currently 1,831 ‘delayed bed days’ in October in Scottish hospitals. This is because a large number of patients who are medically fit for discharge are stuck in hospital beds because of lacking social care provisions. As a result, beds cannot be freed up for incoming patients who need them. Last week, it was reported that patients were having to stay overnight in corridors in Scotland’s largest hospital as there were no more beds available. Staff working within the Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board had to issue a ‘black’ escalation notice within A&E departments as they are facing ‘severe pressure’.
- Patients left waiting for treatment
Meanwhile, waiting lists continue to rise with the number of patients waiting for care increasing. At the end of the third quarter of 2023, over half a million outpatients were waiting for treatment while 151,000 inpatients were languishing in wards waiting for care.
- Cancer waiting times rise
Waiting times for cancer patients to receive treatment are rising too. NHS Scotland has a 62-day standard, a target that aims for 95 per cent of eligible patients with suspected cancer to receive their first treatment within 62 days of urgent referral. Every Scottish health board failed to meet this target by the end of the third quarter of 2023, with over one in four patients were waiting longer than this time. In fact, the 62-day target has not been met nationally since 2012.
If Robison thinks the Scottish public will accept her 'tough' budget because of her promises of public service improvements, she's in for an unpleasant surprise...
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