NHS Scotland has been hit with more bad news as new figures reveal that 18,390 patients died last year while stuck on NHS waiting lists. The numbers come just days after Public Health Scotland found that the equivalent of one in seven Scots are languishing on NHS wait lists. The latest stats show that Scotland’s health crisis is far from under control and present First Minister, and former health secretary, Humza Yousaf with a rather sizeable headache.
Scotland’s central belt appears worst affected: Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s health board saw 3,276 patients on waiting lists die last year, while NHS Lothian (which includes Edinburgh) saw 5,995 and NHS Tayside (which includes Dundee) recorded 2,036 deaths.
The Scottish government has its work cut out if it is to prevent Scotland’s NHS imploding on Yousaf’s watch
There has been an upwards trend in waiting list deaths over the last five years, with a 39 per cent rise in deaths since before the pandemic in 2019.
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