Commenting on reports that one A&E patient waited 22 hours and 13 minutes for a bed at Wishaw General, Scottish Labour Public Services spokesperson Dr Richard Simpson said:
“This is utterly disgraceful. Any wait beyond 4 hours in A&E should be exceptional.
Last summer Labour warned that staffing levels in NHS Lanarkshire were at high risk, we are now seeing the effects of the SNP cutting the health budget.
This news won’t just concern families across Scotland – it will horrify hardworking NHS staff.
NHS staff have dedicated their careers to saving lives but they are being undervalued and overworked under the SNP,with only a third believing they have the resources they need to do their jobs properly.
We need to move away from this crisis management in our NHS. Scottish Labour would invest in social care, taking pressure off of our hospitals and giving patients the dignity of care in their own home.
We need to ensure our NHS that was created in the 1940s is fit for the 2040s, starting with a living wage for care workers.”
“Utterly disgraceful”—Well that depends on how you look at this.
I doubt that ANY NHS A&E, anywhere, could achieve treating ALL patients within four hours, But you could fling loads of money at it, and see how that would do.
It that Scottish Labours plan?
How much money would that be, and where would it come from? Or is this just waffle?
I got a knee replacement at Ayr a year ago, and my treatment was first class. I have little time for those who continually run down hard working NHS staff, but have no idea how to fix the problems they claim to highlight.
If Simpson had a cure, then why are the Welsh NHS waiting time figures so bad under Labour?
If Simpson had a cure, why did the West Staffs scandal occur under Labour?
Was that scandal the responsibility of the then Labour government at Westminster?
Why did Andy Burnham not have to resign?
Could Scottish Labour at some point tot up the amount of moneys they are committed to spending if they form the next Government.
And could they inform us as to their source of funding for these spending commitments.
No more nonsense about raising money by NOT cutting an existing tax, for which you are in receipt of revenue..
I have little time for those who pretend a criticism of poor delivery by the Scottish Government which EXPLICITLY praises NHS staff, is “running down hard working NHS staff”. It’s the sort of pathetic response Sturgeon gives at FMQs when she is (rightly) criticised for HER government’s failure.
Nobody here has run down NHS staff. The comment from Richard Simpson explicitly PRAISES them. So next time you decide to comment here, try at least doing it honestly.
You totally fail to answer my point as to the actual problem.
Has Simpson a solution to the problem of waiting times, which bedevils administration throughout the UK, and which was a good deal worse last time Scottish Labour were in power?
Scottish Labour consistently advocates more expenditure in—-
Education.
College places. 150,000 of which.
Health spending, at all levels.
Local Government spending.
Wages, both in public bodies, and those who deal with public bodies.
Scottish Labour also called for Tata steel to be nationalised.
Etc, etc…………………
This list is hardly comprehensive, but adds up to a huge increase in public spending, with no addendum as to how to raise the finance to pay for it.
As we near the election, a bit of honesty would be welcome.
‘No on no one here has run down NHS Staff”——-‘Honestly’——-I want to point out the fatuous nature of your response to me, Duncan.
Any tired hospital worker coming home, and glancing at their tablet strap lines would see—–
“A&E waiting times ‘utterly disgraceful’-Simpson.”
THAT would really cheer them up. Would they read the small print?
You tell me.
Well said. Gavin is basically using nursing staff as human sheilds when, in reality, they need our support. He needs to defend the SNP less and the NHS more.
It would be interesting for Scottish Labour to state where it thinks the “buck stops” with regard to NHS responsibility .
In England several thousand people probably died as a result of poor care in West Staffs Health Trust involving up to 7 hospitals. One of many health scandals to affect the NHS in England.
Labour was in power during West Staffs, yet Andy Burnham the Health Minister not only survived THIS health scandal, but was well enough thought of to fight for the Leadership of Labour.
Yet in Scotland every item of poor health care is laid at the feet of the Scottish Government, not the Hearth Boards involved.
This even included a person not getting a blanket, an issue raised at FMQ’s. How any FM is supposed to respond to this kind of nonsense is beyond me.
Labours answer to all questions NHS is privatisation. Commit the NHS to a massive PFI PPP debt and to hell with waiting times operations care compassion and service unless your willing to fork out 5 figure sums to pay for it per treatment.
That’s just one of the reasons why people call you Red Tories Scott.
Mike,
At the Scottish Labour conference we voted to buy-back PFI debt. Meanwhile the SNP continues to use PFI to procure NHS projects.
“Last summer Labour warned that staffing levels in NHS Lanarkshire were at high risk, we are now seeing the effects of the SNP cutting the health budget.”
The SNP has increased the Health budget year on year and NHS spend more per head in Scotland than is spent in England and wales
“Scottish Labour would invest in social care, taking pressure off of our hospitals and giving patients the dignity of care in their own home.”
Which is precisely what the current government is doing with its integration plans…..a little late to the table Labour.
“We need to ensure our NHS that was created in the 1940s is fit for the 2040s, starting with a living wage for care workers.””
Since it is in general Labour run councils who are responsible for this and have been quite happy to lease out the care sector to private companies, the attempt by Scottish Labour to force through these living wage changes will leave councils open to court battles and will push up care costs….since the privatisation of the care sector so favoured by Labour will not take less profit….also since it appears to be anothe “APD” wheeze – the fourth time the “money that isn’t extra money” will have been spent…..
easy to promise with an uncosted assurance…..but it looks like labour lack the competence to deliver
The SNP have increased health spending in cash terms, but in real terms there have been cuts. #fact
See: https://whytepaper.wordpress.com/2016/01/07/scottish-government-health-spending/
#selectivefact
The actual budget has increased….
due to inflation and other costs this represents a real terms drop in expenditure of 0.9% (as you say)
When placed next to cut of 10% in the Department Expenditure Limit (thanks to the current conservative governments slashing of budgets which Labour supported and voted for in Jabuary of this year). …which, taken into considerattion with non domestic rates, reperesents a cut of 5.8% to the money the Scottish Government has direct control over….
a drop of 0.9% represents significant protection of the health budget in the face of very difficult circumstances,,,
and still doesn’t contradict the statement that The Scottish government spnds more per head on NHS Scotland than the UK does in England (due to the increases made since 2008, allowing the SNP to keep hospitals open that Labour earmared for closure and open new facilities)
Not you have made no attempt to address Labbour run councils mismanagement of the Care Sector under their control
WHY ??? is that not the question that should be asked, if a patient has been waiting over 22 hours for a bed what was the reason ? It can’t be that all of a sudden the money ran out and all the NHS staff went home.
Did it actually happen ? was human error involved ? was their a sudden influx of patients ? did staff sickness cause problems, was the patient involved actually discomforted ? was it a bed in a specialist ward that was required ? WHY ???
But of course labour doesn’t ask the real questions or come up with the real answers just SNPBAAD. So here is a current NHS story for you:
On Sunday 10th Jan this year my mother who is 80 and has parkinsons fell and broke her hip, a neighbour found her fortunately just a short time later. The amblance arrived within 15 minutes from Fraserburgh 8 miles away and she was on her way the 45 miles to Forsterhill hospital within 15 minutes, two & half hours later she has been x-rayed, pain relief sorted and in a bed in a ward.
She had an operation on the Tuesday and was moved to Fraserburgh hospitial for her re-hab yesterday. During this time the NHS staff dealt with my own and my family and friends enquires and visits with a smile, good info and total professionalism, and thats from the receptionists to the doctors and nurses and all the others involved, ordinary people doing an extraodinary job in the most professinal way.
They don’t deserve to be used as a political football, if their is a genuine problem find it and offer a solution, the people who work in the NHS deserve that at the very least.
My special thanks to the staff of ward 213 Forsterhill and the amblance team who took her in, your simply stunning.
Nobody here is using NHS staff as a political football. The article on which you are commenting PAYS TRIBUTE to NHS staff.
BULLSHIT – time after time scottish labour uses the NHS as a club to attack the Scottish government, and without a thought about the staff, just a patronising “your all wonderful comment” before you start using them to start scoring political points.
I hope with independence one of the first things we do is put the NHS outwith the reach of political parties, so cheap, nasty, backhanded political motives can never again be used to the detriment of our NHS.
You are using them to score points right now. Your self-awareness is zero.
“Mike,
At the Scottish Labour conference we voted to buy-back PFI debt. Meanwhile the SNP continues to use PFI to procure NHS projects”
No lie too big no lie too outrageous today eh? You know fine well the SNP isn’t using PFI to procure anything in the NHS the SNP are lumbered paying off the PFI debt imposed by the last Labour Government.
Labour lands the NHS with PFI debt now you tell us Labour want to use public funds to buy it back which is basically how PFI works and how the Private sector gets public funds via PFI.
Is it the terminally gullible or the terminally dippit Labour are courting these days? Perhaps you’re hoping for both?