Humza Yousaf was today criticised for having “no vision for Scotland’s NHS” following a damning report from Audit Scotland on healthcare.
At First Minister’s Questions, Douglas Ross said there has been “a lost decade of leadership in Scotland’s NHS”.
The Scottish Conservative leader added that “ten years of stalling and delay has had dire consequences for patients”.
Audit Scotland’s report, released today, revealed that the latest SNP targets to reduce waiting times are “unlikely” to be met.
The report found the number of people waiting over a year for treatment has jumped from just 3,500 to 40,000, which is an 11-fold increase since 2019, despite patient numbers falling.
When he was health secretary, Humza Yousaf claimed his NHS Recovery Plan “will drive the recovery of our NHS, not just to its pre-pandemic level but beyond”.
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said: “When he was health secretary, Humza Yousaf brought in an NHS Recovery Plan that was supposed to bring waiting times down. But things are getting worse, not better.
“Humza Yousaf blames the Covid pandemic but more people are waiting – and they’re waiting longer.
“The Audit Scotland report stated the SNP’s targets on waiting times are ‘unlikely’ to be met. Those are Humza Yousaf’s targets. It was his recovery plan.
“Humza Yousaf sent waiting times in the wrong direction. He must finally admit his plan has failed.
“Audit Scotland say they can’t even fully measure how badly his recovery plan has failed, because the SNP has not been transparent with the public. Humza Yousaf is covering up just how bad it’s been.
“The reason for this failure seems clear from the report. Humza Yousaf has no vision for Scotland’s NHS – he’s been asleep at the wheel, just like every other SNP First Minister.
“There’s been a lost decade of leadership in Scotland’s NHS.
“Ten years of stalling and delay has had dire consequences for patients.
“How long are the people of Scotland going to have to wait for the SNP to get their act together?”