Embattled SNP minister told to ‘get to grips’ with crisis in NHS

UNDER-fire Health Secretary Michael Matheson has been accused of being “missing in action” with key performance figures hitting grim levels amid his iPad scandal.

Latest stats revealed there were still fewer planned operations in December than before the Covid pandemic – despite an SNP vow in 2021 to increase numbers.

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And the number of Scots waiting longer than the target time in accident and emergency was the second highest on record in the final month of 2023.

Mr Matheson came under huge pressure in November and December over his £11,000 MSP iPad bill, which was initially charged to the taxpayer on the basis of false assurances he gave to parliament about usage being for parly duties.

He later lied to the public about the issue in media interviews, before claiming that the charges were due to his sons streaming footie during a family holiday in Morocco.

Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: “The Health Secretary has been missing in action while patients and staff are forced to deal with the mess his government created.”

Latest stats showed the number of planned ops in December last year were down by 19.2 per cent when compared to December 2019.

According to figures published by Public Health Scotland, there were 25,791 planned ops in the final month of 2019, in contrast to the 20,837 in the same period in 2023.

And for A&E, of the 123,490 patients who sought help at A&E in December, 42,442 had to wait more than four hours to be either admitted, transferred or discharged.

Meanwhile, 15,107 people waited for more than eight hours, and 6,467 for over 12 hours.

Only the total from December 2022 is higher than that, Public Health Scotland data showed

Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “The Health Secretary has to get to grips with this crisis.

“That starts by admitting that his predecessor’s NHS Recovery Plan has failed, and coming up with something better. It is what patients and staff deserve.”

Stats released by PHS also showed an increase in delayed discharges from hospital, where patients are not released, despite being fit enough to be discharged.

The number of bed days occupied by patients rose in 2023 to 657,933 – up by 4,841 on the year before.

Mr Matheson blamed “heightened winter pressure” and said similar demand was “being felt right throughout the rest of the UK”.

He added: “We recognise waiting times are longer than we want them to be for some patients and we continue to work closely with boards to support delivery of sustained improvements.”

Last year, parly authorities agreed to pay the £10,941.74 roaming bill on the basis of Mr Matheson’s written assurances that 6.1GB of data used over five days was exclusively for parliamentary purposes. The assurances turned out to false.

First Minister Humza Yousaf backed Mr Matheson over the scandal despite calls for him to quit or be sacked, and Mr Matheson paid back the £11,000 to parly authorities from his own pocket.

A probe into the matter is ongoing by the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body, which could refer the issue to Holyrood’s standards committee – leading to potential sanctions against the Health Secretary.

The probe outcome had been expected by the end of January, but a Scottish Parliament spokesperson said yesterday: “The SPCB previously said its initial statement of provisional findings would likely be provided to the Member in January 2024.

“Work continues apace and the SPCB will provide an update once it is appropriate to do so.”