Murdo Fraser MSP has said the SNP Government is “letting down” patients in Tayside who are suffering from chronic pain.
The Scottish Conservative politician made his comments following the recent release by Public Health Scotland of the latest quarterly statistics on waiting times for chronic pain patients (for the quarter ending December 31, 2023.) The figures reveal that 99 people waited for 52 weeks or more for an appointment to be seen by medical staff at NHS Tayside.
This was up from 85 patients in the previous quarter (ending September 30, 2023).
Commenting, Mr Fraser said: “The waiting time figures for patients in Tayside suffering from chronic pain are shocking and must be addressed. Tayside has some of the worst waiting times in Scotland over this latest quarter and that is just not acceptable. Many of these patients will be waiting in agony for medical treatment and should not have to endure waits of more than a year for an appointment.
“People suffering from chronic pain are being let down by this failing SNP government, whose poor workforce planning lies behind the intolerable waits across Scotland’s NHS. Patients who suffer from chronic pain need to be seen as quickly as possible – instead of having to wait more than a year in many cases. It is easily seen that like many other aspects of the NHS in Scotland under the SNP, chronic pain is moving in the wrong direction.”
Mr Fraser continued: “The newly installed Health Secretary, Neil Gray, needs to take note of these abysmal waiting times for chronic pain patients and address this crisis by putting into action the proposals outlined in the Scottish Conservatives' latest health paper, which sets out our vision for a modern, effective, and local NHS. This is the only way chronic pain patients will see some light at the end of the tunnel.”
