HOSPITALS are less prepared to cope this winter than at any time over the last decade, the Labour Party's health spokesman claims today.
Richard Simpson – a former NHS consultant psychiatrist – said that hospitals "will struggle to cope" if the recent cold weather continues.
A&E wards across Scotland are reporting packed waiting rooms due to the cold snap. Last week, the heating sy
stem in one block of the Southern General hospital in Glasgow collapsed for 24 hours. Simpson said he feared that patients on trolleys in hospital corridors would be seen across the country.
Labour claims health boards across Scotland are facing cuts of £500m this year and are pointing to warnings by the Auditor General that the NHS is set to face "considerable challenges" as costs rise and budgets get squeezed.
Several health boards have warned that they will need to reduce staff or cut services to meet shortfalls. Labour claims that the fault lies with the SNP for failing to pass on the same increases in budget as ministers in England.
"Nicola Sturgeon's complacency is now having an impact at every level of the health service. In Glasgow, elderly patients have been given extra blankets to keep warm because a hospital ward has no heating. This Victorian approach to healthcare is simply unacceptable," said Simpson.
He also said that bed blocking – beds taken up with patients who are capable of going home but cannot be discharged – is on the rise. In April, there were no cases, but by October there were 92 patients still in hospital after the six-week discharge planning period.
In response to Simpson, an aide to Sturgeon said: "Labour's baseless scaremongering is outrageous. The truth is that the NHS is well prepared for winter. The only party proposing NHS cuts is UK Labour, who intend to slash the Scottish health budget by £125m."
However, the British Medical Association warned last week that the Scottish NHS faced major problems. Dr Peter Terry, BMA chairman for Scotland, said boards were unprepared for next year's European Working Time Directive. "The 48-hour working limit is going to have a massive impact on training and service delivery. If the standard of training is not maintained it will be to the detriment of patient care, and this is not acceptable."
Terry also attacked plans to directly elect members to health boards, calling it a "costly experiment" that would drain resources from patients.
