Scots are being forced to "remortgage their homes" to pay for private healthcare due to massive waiting times for some NHS procedures, Anas Sarwar has said.
The Scottish Labour leader said 40 per cent of patients who underwent hip or knee replacement surgery in Scotland last year had relied on the private sector - at a cost of more than £10,000 each.
Speaking at First Minister's Questions, he said 39,000 patients had been treated privately in the last 12 months, in addition to the many more people also using private dental surgeries.
