NHS in Scotland is not in crisis, says Neil Gray

Health secretary Neil Gray has denied that the NHS in Scotland is in crisis despite missing waiting time targets, high patient dissatisfaction and staffing concerns.

In an exclusive interview with Holyrood, Gray accepted there were “challenges” but insisted the Scottish Government was “facing up to them”.

He added it was important to “celebrate” the successes of the NHS because “most people get an incredibly good service”.

Results of the Scottish Social Attitude Survey published earlier this summer found that over half of Scots (52 per cent) were dissatisfied with the health service, with just 23 per cent saying they were satisfied.

The most recent A&E waiting time statistics found that 69.6 per cent of people were seen within four hours, well below the target of having 95 per cent of patients seen within that time.

More than one in ten patients spent more than eight hours in A&E (10.6 per cent), while almost one in 20 were waiting over half a day (4.5 per cent).

The proportion of patients seen within four hours has not exceeded 80 per cent since summer 2021.

And BMA Scotland has repeatedly warned about “dangerously low” staffing levels and low morale.

Asked if the NHS in Scotland was in crisis, or reaching crisis point, Gray replied: “No.”

He continued: “For people that are waiting too long – and I accept readily that there are too many people waiting for too long for treatment – that feeling is going to be there. And for staff that are feeling burnt out or are feeling the frustration of not being able to get their patients treated, of course there is going to be that feeling as well.

“But I want to make sure that there is a realistic balance between the challenges that are there, that are clear, that are also not unique to Scotland, I need to make sure that we’re addressing those, but I also can’t allow a situation where all aspects of the health service are perceived in that way… Most people get an incredibly good service from caring, dedicated, committed, professional staff. They do so on time and they do so in an environment that is conducive to them getting good outcomes.”

He added: “Yes, there are challenges, I will be the first to accept that. The reason why I am so committed to seeing reform and improvement is because I recognise those challenges and we accept responsibility.

“We are taking decisions to raise revenue – the decisions that we’ve taken around taxation are not easy, we’ve received criticism for them, but they’re precisely because we want to see that continued investment in our health service.

“And so, this isn’t a health secretary that is ignoring challenges or isn’t taking responsibility. This is a health secretary and a government that is facing up to them.”

The comments come as a review of the NHS in England, led by Lord Darzi, found the service to be in “critical condition”.

In response, Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised “the biggest reimagining of the NHS” since it was formed, with a new 10-year plan to be published in the coming months.

In Scotland, the health secretary is leading a “national conversation” on how to reform the NHS.

But he warned that doing so would be “difficult” without increased investment from the UK Government.

Gray told Holyrood: “When resources are tight, it’s more difficult to invest in areas of improvement and reform because you’re looking to try to make sure that the current services are able to be maintained. Ordinarily you would wish to provide additional investment that would see service change.”