John Swinney warned Scotland 'sleepwalking' into two-tier health system over cancer waiting times

John Swinney has been warned Scotland is "sleepwalking" into a two-tier health system where some patients can pay to access treatment quicker than others.

The First Minister was asked by Anas Sarwar to explain why 26,000 cancer patients have waited longer than the 62-day standard for beginning treatment over the decade.

The Scottish Labour leader said that NHS waiting times were the biggest reason for the increasing number of Scots who are choosing to pay for private healthcare.

Swinney said there needed to be a "serious conversation" had about the future of the NHS following the outcome of the general election next week.

It comes as the NHS continues to struggle with long waits for treatment in both A&E wards and cancer referrals.

Recent figures showed the Scottish Government had never met its target to ensure 95 per cent of patients wait no longer than 62 days for treatment after an urgent suspicion of cancer referral.

Sarwar hit out at the final session of FMQs at Holyrood today before the Scottish Parliament closes for the summer recess.

The Glasgow MSP said: "Long waits are forcing those who can afford it, to go private. A two-tier health service in Scotland is now beyond question. If you can stump up the cash, then you can get the care you need.

"We all value an NHS free at the point of use. Yet, Scotland is sleepwalking into sacrificing this principle, threatening the very existence of the national health service as we know it.

"“These are the words of Dr Iain Kennedy, chair of BMA Scotland talking about the NHS in Scotland.

"Two weeks ago, I highlighted the scandal of cancer patients having to pay privately for their chemotherapy. Cancer is Scotland’s biggest killer. It has touched every family in Scotland.

"On Tuesday, it was confirmed that this SNP government has failed to meet the 62-day standard for cancer treatment. In fact it has not met the standard for 12 years and in that time almost 26,000 cancer patients have waited too long - 5,000 in the last year alone.

"The faster someone gets treatment the higher their chances of survival."

Sarwar added: "Earlier this month Professor Farhat Din of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh told the Scottish Parliament Health Committee: 'As a cancer surgeon, when patients in my clinic ask me when their operation will be…that is a very difficult conversation to have. Each of those people is part of a family, and there is anxiety for them. There is also anxiety for clinicians, because we are trying to deliver care, but we cannot deliver the high standard of care that we have been trained to deliver'.

"First Minister, 26,000 cancer patients and their families have faced this anxiety and waited too long on your watch – you must explain your government’s failure to them."

Swinney said: "I don’t think it’s any secret that we’re going to have a Labour government in a little while. We’re going to have to see how the dialogue develops.

"In a week on Friday, the issues that have been raised with me about the health service are going to be the Labour Party’s problem.

"What I’m calling for is a serious conversation about what lies ahead."

The SNP leader insisted his Government had "taken the hard decisions" – including increasing tax – to boost funding for the health service.

The First Minister warned that Labour plans in England would bring £134 million of funding to Scotland, shy of the £237 million the country received in health consequentials from the “awful Tories” in the most recent spring budget revisions.

“I invite Anas Sarwar to do the maths,” he added. "We cannot prolong austerity and that’s what the Labour Party are offering.

“Until the Labour Party offers a sensible way out of austerity, people in Scotland won’t take it at all seriously.”

But Sarwar branded the First Minister’s response as "embarrassing"

"You have been in charge of the health service for 17 years and the chair of the BMA is now saying we have a two-tier health service," he added.

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