The Scottish Conservatives have called for the Scottish Government to publish a plan outlining how they will clear the backlog of operations created while the NHS concentrates on Covid-19.
The call comes as the latest figures show that the number of planned operations for March this year in Scotland has fallen over 30% compared to March last year.
In addition, the number of cancelled operations for the same month has almost doubled to 15% compared to March 2019.
The Scottish Conservatives have said that it is understandable that the NHS has been prioritising Covid patients but the Scottish Government must outline a plan to clear this backlog and ensure there isn’t any avoidable suffering beyond the pandemic.
3,429 operations were carried out in NHS Lothian during March 2020, a decrease of 1,875 from 5,304 in March 2019 – a decrease of 35%.
The percentage of cancelled operations has more than doubled compared to March 2019, with 21.3% of operations cancelled in March 2020, compared to 9.9%.
Miles Briggs, Scottish Conservative shadow health secretary said: “Our NHS has rightly diverted time and resources to tackling Covid-19 and we wouldn’t expect anything else.
“But the dramatic reduction in hospital operations is not without cost and must be reversed as soon as possible.
“The Scottish Government must put a plan in place to clear these operations or Covid could cause even greater suffering.
“Prior to the Covid-19 outbreak SNP Ministers were failing to meet their own waiting times targets.
“It is clear that for many patients the wait to get the treatments and operations they need is going to be significantly longer.
“I am enormously grateful to everyone working in our NHS right now – the Scottish Government must plan now so doctors and nurses can continue to save lives now and in the future.”
