A Lanarkshire MSP says more urgency must be given to treating patients with musculoskeletal conditions.
Meghan Gallacher’s call comes after new figures showed that more than 45 per cent of patients needing treatment for the likes of bones, cartilage, ligaments, tendons and connective tissues waited over four weeks to be seen after being referred.
The SNP’s target is for 90 per cent of patients to be seen within four weeks, but in NHS Lanarkshire only 27.3 per cent of patients were seen within four weeks. These are the worst figures in the country.
A further 759 patients have waited over six months to be seen.
Meghan says far too many patients are suffering in agony, with the SNP’s Health Secretary failing to have a proper plan in place to treat them as quickly as possible.
She said: “These figures are simply not good enough.
“Patients in NHS Lanarkshire who are suffering with musculoskeletal conditions will often be suffering in constant pain. They need reassurance that appointments will be offered as quickly as possible.
“While far too many are waiting more than a month to be seen in NHS Lanarkshire, it is simply disgraceful the number who have waited six months to be seen.
“These problems predate the pandemic, yet there is not enough urgency from the SNP to resolve them.”
Across the country, there has been a 171 per cent increase in the amount of patients waiting longer than 24 weeks for this specialist service.
Numbers have soared from 4749 in March 2020 to 12,875 in March 2022. These services include treatments like physiotherapy, occupational therapy and podiatry, and have a target waiting time of just four weeks.
Scottish Labour has slammed the rise in these numbers, with chiropody and podiatry seeing the sharpest rise, with the total rising by a staggering 456 per cent (from 1167 to 6494).
A Scottish Government spokeswoman pointed to their £1 billion NHS Recovery Plan as evidence they are trying to fix this issue urgently.
She said: “We are working closely with NHS Boards to get those waiting for treatment the care they need as quickly as possible. Throughout the pandemic NHS Boards have ensured urgent, maternity and vital cancer services continue as usual, while the pausing of some non-urgent services has contributed to people waiting longer for treatment.
“Our NHS Recovery Plan, backed by over £1 billion of funding, will support inpatient, day case, and outpatient activity and the implementation of sustainable improvements and new models of care.
“Recognising that some people are waiting too long for treatment, we recently reviewed the Clinical Prioritisation Framework. This now allows NHS Boards to treat patients waiting for long periods as well as those clinically urgent.”
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