Are Scottish Labour and the Scottish Government singing from different songbooks when it comes to NHS wait times? It seems so, and the discrepancies are sparking a heated debate.
At the heart of the matter lies a disagreement over how many people are stuck on waiting lists for medical care in Scotland. The Scottish Government and its allies often point to figures suggesting roughly one in nine Scots are waiting for treatment. But, Scottish Labour, along with some other political figures, paint a grimmer picture, claiming the reality is closer to one in six.
But here's where it gets controversial...
First Minister John Swinney recently announced additional funding to address the issue, which, unsurprisingly, reignited the argument over these very statistics. So, let's dive into the details.
According to the latest data from Public Health Scotland (PHS), there are 628,696 individuals currently on at least one waiting list for outpatient, inpatient, or day case appointments. PHS estimates this represents about 1 in 9 of the Scottish population, based on mid-2024 estimates. Within this total, 501,908 individuals are awaiting new outpatient appointments, while 150,428 are waiting for inpatient or day case admissions. Professor Rowan Parks, president of the Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh, echoed this one-in-nine figure in a recent interview.
So, why is Scottish Labour using a higher figure?
And this is the part most people miss...
Essentially, Scottish Labour includes waiting times for diagnostic appointments in their calculations. They cite data from June this year, which shows 150,506 Scots waiting for eight key diagnostic tests. When this number is added to the total number of people on other waiting lists, it brings the total to 879,215. When this number is divided by the mid-2024 population estimate of 5,546,900, the result is the one-in-six figure. Furthermore, Scottish Labour points out that neither their figures nor those from PHS include waiting times for mental health outpatient treatment, follow-up outpatient appointments, and services like physiotherapy, suggesting both figures might be an underestimate.
Is this misinformation? The SNP certainly thinks so. Clare Haughey MSP stated that waiting times have been decreasing for four consecutive months under the current government, while Labour-run England is seeing an increase in wait times.
This is where opinions really start to diverge... Fact-checkers have also weighed in, with Full Fact stating that Scottish Labour's calculation method “misrepresents the data”. They noted that PHS advises against this calculation method because some patients may be counted multiple times if they are waiting for several things.
So, what do you think? Are Scottish Labour's figures a fair reflection of the situation, or are they deliberately misrepresenting the data? Do you believe the government's figures are more accurate, or are they downplaying the issue? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
