New figures show SNP cannot be trusted with your health

Following new statistics revealing long waits at A&E, huge waiting lists for NHS treatment, increasing waits for social care, gaps in dental care and falling uptake in cervical cancer screening, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP warned that the SNP cannot be trusted with your health.

New figures from Public Health Scotland show that:

• Only 62.7% of people attending A&E were seen within the 4-hour target in the week ending 8th February, with 3,783 people waiting over 8 hours and 1,874 waiting over 12 hours.
• At the end of January, 786,457 people were waiting for diagnostic, inpatient or outpatient appointments.
• Compared to last year, the number of people waiting on a social care assessment has increased by more than a quarter, with 10,810 people now waiting on either a care assessment or a care package.
• In 2024/25, uptake of the cervical cancer screening programme was just 41.9% of all eligible women, significantly below the target of 80%.
• Around 2 million people haven’t seen a dentist in the past two years, despite being registered.

On A&E waits, Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

"When the SNP came to power, half day waits at A&E were rare; now they're the norm for thousands of Scots every single week.

"A&E departments are backed up, because there are so many people who are stuck in hospital and unable to leave. That’s because the care package they need is not available.

“I've repeatedly raised the case of Margaret MacGill with the First Minister. She should have been home within 14 weeks, but she’s been in hospital for 14 months.

"You cannot fix the NHS and bring down A&E waits without fixing social care. In May, you can vote for our plan to do that by backing us on your second, peach, regional ballot paper.”

On NHS waiting times, Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

“The hundreds of thousands of people stuck on waiting lists show that the SNP cannot be trusted to deliver for our NHS.

“Their failures are preventing people from returning to work and getting on in life, and hard-working staff are picking up the pieces.

“The SNP are terrible for your health. Scotland deserves change with fairness at its heart, and you can vote for that in May by backing the Scottish Liberal Democrats on your second, peach-coloured, regional ballot paper.”

On social care waits, Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

“Fixing social care will never be a priority for the SNP. They’re denying people the care they need to leave hospital and free up space for patients arriving at A&Es.

“Only the Scottish Liberal Democrats have secured millions more for the sector, stopped another wasteful SNP centralisation and created a new college route for care workers. That is a down payment on our plan to fix care because the Liberal Democrats are the party of care.

“You can vote for more of that in May by backing us on your peach-coloured, regional ballot paper.”

On the cervical cancer screening uptake figures, Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

"The number of women accessing this screening programme is still too low.

"We know that early intervention is crucial in cancer cases, so much more needs to be done to expand both coverage and uptake.

"That includes tackling barriers to participation, whether that's making sure women can get appointments at times that suit them or supporting them with information about what a screening involves."

On the dentistry figures, Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

“When I’m out speaking to people across the country, I hear horror stories of how they can’t get an appointment or how dental deserts mean there are no NHS dentists for miles.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats have a long history of delivering for NHS dentistry. We were instrumental in introducing free NHS dental checkups and pressed for a dental school to address the shortage of dentists in remote and rural areas.

“Patients and staff all deserve better than almost two decades of SNP decay. Scottish Liberal Democrats have a realistic plan to deliver the change they need with fairness at its heart.”