Scottish Conservative and Unionist MSP for Lothian, Jeremy Balfour has warned of a “ticking timebomb” when it comes to patients in the Lothians waiting on key diagnostic tests.
Jeremy Balfour’s call comes after new Public Health Scotland Statistics revealed 157,289 patients across Scotland are now waiting on the eight key tests including colonoscopies and endoscopies.
That is an increase of almost 2,000 patients since the last quarter and up over 75 per cent on the number of patients who were waiting in February 2020, the last month before the pandemic struck.
In NHS Lothian, 20,997 people were waiting for a test at the end of June. That was a 4% since March 2022 and a rise of 57% since Feb 2020.
Jeremy Balfour says the figures are deeply alarming, due to the fact that these tests can help save lives, by ensuring quicker detection.
Jeremy Balfour added that urgent action is needed from SNP Health Secretary Humza Yousaf so that patients in NHS Lothian can be seen as quickly as possible and backlogs are urgently tackled.
Scottish Conservative and Unionist MSP Jeremy Balfour said: “The number of patients in NHS Lothian waiting on these key diagnostic tests is deeply concerning.
“If urgent action is not taken, then I really fear a ticking timebomb is facing patients and staff in NHS Lothian.
“These tests are crucial and we know the sooner patients undergo them, the better their chances of survival are, should they be diagnosed with, say, cancer.
“Patients need to see urgent action from Humza Yousaf. The number of patients waiting on these tests is continuing to rise and threatens to spiral out of control.
“As NHS Lothian continues to remobilise post-pandemic, we need to see an urgent plan from Humza Yousaf to help the health board get on top of this backlog and ensure patients in Lothian receive tests as quickly as possible.”
