Question reference: S6W-05349
- Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 24 December 2021
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Current status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 24 January 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce the waiting time for surgery for Priority 4 gynaecology patients, in light of some patients being informed that the waiting time for some procedures is currently over 100 weeks.
Answer
As you know, the NHS in Scotland is under unprecedented pressure, particularly as a result of this latest Covid wave, and a number of services have been stood down in order to support urgent and emergency demand.
The latest data shows Boards are reporting a 65% increase in coronavirus absence compared to the previous week and significantly faster rate of increase in Covid hospitalisations this year compared to last January. This is a reminder of the challenges our NHS continues to face, having a high impact on waiting times for those people waiting to receive scheduled treatment.
Those waiting for treatment should be signposted to help on how they can manage their condition, and are encourage to seek support if they feel their mental health is being impacted.
The NHS Recovery Plan, which is backed by over £1 billion of additional investment, sets out how the Scottish Government will increase NHS capacity by at least 10% as quickly as possible in order to address backlogs and meet the ongoing healthcare needs for people across the country, including gynaecology patients.
Women’s Health is key priority for this government, which is why we published an ambitious Women’s Health Plan in August 2021. The Women’s Health Plan underpins actions to improve women’s health inequalities by raising awareness around women’s health, improving access to health care for women across their life course and reducing inequalities in health outcomes for girls and women, both for sex-specific conditions and in women’s general health.