The cost of the maintenance backlog in Scotland’s NHS has risen to more than £1.3 billion, figures show. Data released following a freedom of information request from the Scottish Conservatives shows it would take £1.
335 billion to clear the maintenance waiting list, according to the Scottish Government. The figure, which comes from April this year so may now be even higher, is an increase from £1.1 billion at the end of 2022, according to a report by Audit Scotland.
Scottish Tory health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane warned the cash required to fix the issues in the NHS estate would have to be found at the expense of other parts of the service. “The maintenance backlog costs facing Scotland’s NHS have hit staggering levels,” he said. READ MORE: How do we fix Scotland's NHS? This could be the start Lucy Letby, the Thirlwell inquiry, and the lessons for NHS Almost 1 in 6 calls to NHS 24 go unanswered “In the space of a few months, this bill has escalated by over £200 million on the SNP’s watch.
These figures are a damning indictment of how the nationalists have shamefully neglected our health service over the past 17 years. “Successive SNP health secretaries have had their eye off the ball and allowed crucial health care services to fall into a total state of disrepair, which ultimately impacts patients and staff, as well as health boards’ budgets. “In light of these figures, it is little wonder independent auditors think the SNP have no vision for our NHS .