‘Living in denial’ Sturgeon HAMMERED over the ‘grim’ state of the NHS in Scotland

The SNP leader was taken to task by Labour’s Kezia Dugdale and the Conservatives Ruth Davidson during First Minister’s Questions in the Scottish parliament on Thursday.

Ms Dugdale tore into Ms Sturgeon’s record on healthcare, accusing it of going “off the rails” on her watch.

“A decade of SNP control produced a grim diagnosis,” she said of a recent review of the state of the NHS in Scotland.

“Funding is not keeping pace with increasing demand and patients needs.

“Only one of eight key targets have been met. A workforce crisis that has been brewing for years is getting worse.

SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT TV

Nicola Sturgeon was taken to task over the state of the NHS

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“These problems did not appear overnight it is the legacy of a decade of the SNP controlling our NHS.”

Ms Davidson, the Conservative’s leader in Scotland, also railed against the SNP over healthcare.

She thundered: “I think we need to spell out things today for what they are and that is the failure of this government to get to grips with our NHS and it is an outrage.

“Health boards are having to make huge savings in order to break even, to take out loans to keep going and to put off essential repairs to hospital buildings.”

In its report Audit Scotland said “major challenges lie ahead” for the health service.

So critical are the funding issues facing Ms Sturgeon’s government that £135million was spent on temporary nurses and midwives last year.”

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A decade of SNP control produced a grim diagnosis

Kezia Dugdale

Auditor General Caroline Gardner said: “Major challenges lie ahead for the NHS in Scotland. 

“There are growing pressures on health boards which are struggling to juggle service delivery and progressing major reform whilst also managing considerable financial challenges. 

“The Scottish Government has had a policy to shift the balance of care for over a decade but despite multiple strategies for reform, NHS funding has not changed course. 

“Before that shift can occur, there needs to be a clear and detailed plan for change, setting out what the future of the NHS looks like, what it will cost to deliver and the workforce numbers and skills needed to make it a reality.”