Embattled Health Secretary Humza Yousaf has announced extra social care funding in a desperate bid to free up hospital beds.
Yousaf claimed 300 care beds would be purchased to address the “unprecedented” crisis afflicting the health service.
But the extra cash covers around 17 per cent of the beds currently occupied by patients who are ready to leave.
Labour MSP Jackie Baillie hit out: "The SNP are keen to tell us that this winter the NHS is under unprecedented pressure. They cite Covid, flu and strep A.
"But it’s not unprecedented – it was predictable and in fact fewer patients are being seen in A&E than before the pandemic. What is unprecedented is this government’s failure."
The First Minister said this week that hospitals are close to full capacity amid huge pressures in every part of the service.
Patients who are ready to leave hospital are not being discharged due to a lack of social care packages.
In a statement to MSPs, Yousaf said: "This is the single most challenging winter that the NHS in Scotland has ever faced. Our NHS, its committed workforce, is facing a perfect storm of intense pressures which are leading to extreme difficulty, disruption and delays right across the service."
The Health Secretary, who has faced calls to quit, announced £8m for “interim” social care beds that would be time-limited.
Health and Social Care Partnerships will share the cash to procure the beds, with the funding allowing boards to pay 25% over and above the care home rate.
This is in addition to around 600 interim care beds already in operation across the country.
However, Sturgeon said on Monday that an estimated 1,700 people are ready for discharge in hospital - far exceeding the 300 beds.
Yousaf also said extra resources would be ploughed into NHS 24 in an attempt to reduce the number of people going to hospital.
In addition, NHS 24 also recruit around 200 new starts before the end of March.
Yousaf said: “We are ensuring all possible actions are being taken to support services, and the additional measures I have outlined today will help relieve some of the extreme pressure Health Boards are facing.
“We know one of the most significant issues our NHS is facing is delayed discharge, that is why I have announced further support to buy additional capacity in the care sector.
“NHS 24 has a vital role in referring people to appropriate urgent care services outside of hospitals and plans to increase staff numbers over the course of winter, will help the service deal with increases in demand.”
In earlier comments, Yousaf claimed increasing the wages for social care staff to £12 an hour would have a “significantly detrimental” impact on the NHS.
Critics of the Government believe low pay in the social care sector is playing a major role in the NHS crisis, with staff shortages affecting service levels.
Yousaf said it would cost “well over £1 billion” if Labour demands for care workers to receive a minimum of £15 a hour were met.
He told MSPs this would be “very, very difficult, near impossible – frankly – to fund, given the financial pressures we are under".
Even increasing pay for care staff to £12 an hour would cost the Scottish Government “hundreds of millions”, Yousaf added.
He insisted he could not “take the cost of £12 an hour off the NHS and put that into social care” because it would have a “detrimental impact on the NHS at this stage”.
Baillie added: “The Health Secretary has been warned about this crisis for well over a year, and he has failed to listen and act on solutions.
“This government failed to end delayed discharge, something they promised to do in 2015 and 8 years on, it’s at record levels.
“This government presided over inadequate workforce planning – and we now have 6,400 nursing vacancies and up to 14 per cent of consultant posts in some areas lying empty.”
Tory MSP Sandesh Gulhane said: “Under the health secretary, the NHS is on its knees. A&E waiting times, cancer waiting times and delayed discharge are all at their worst ever level – with no improvement in sight.
“This is a national emergency. People are dying unnecessarily, our heroic NHS staff are overwhelmed and burning out.
“I cannot fathom why the health secretary did not plan for, in his words, the worst-ever winter our NHS has faced. Covid, flu, cold, accidents – all increasing. This was predictable.”
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