Lothian MSP, Miles Briggs, has warned that an urgent recovery plan is needed to support NHS Lothian in their recovery.
Public Health Scotland figures today showed that a total of 29,221 operations have been carried out in the health board over the last year, compared to 48,342 in the previous year. This is equivaled to 40% fewer operations being carried out, creating a significant backlog.
Between May 2019 and April 2020, 54,330 operations were scheduled with 5,988 cancellations and meaning 48,342 operations were carried out. This is in comparison to May 2020 to April 2021 with 31,872 operations scheduled, 2,651 cancelled, meaning that 29,221 operations were carried out.
In the latest NHS board papers, in April this year, NHS Lothian warned that -
There is a need for an agreed recovery plan and the public need to understand that our ability to recover this year will be limited and it is likely that waiting times may further deteriorate until Autumn before improvement is seen.
Lothian MSP, Miles Briggs, said: “We knew that NHS Lothian was in need of a recovery plan, due to the impact of Covid-19 over the last year, but these figures show just how crucial that plan is. The UK government has provided unprecedented financial support to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic and it is vital that this money is passed on to health boards. Before the Covid-19 pandemic NHS Lothian was struggling to meet performance targets and the last year has made the challenge of meeting these targets even harder. Frontline NHS staff have and still are working exceptionally hard, but SNP Ministers are not providing them the necessary support to recover.”
