Beamish critical of NHS report

South of Scotland MSP Claudia Beamish has revealed that Audit Scotland’s ‘NHS in Scotland in 2015′ report shows that:
* the health budget decreased by 0.7 per cent in real terms between 2008/09 and 2014/15
* the NHS is missing targets in seven out of nine key performance indicators, and performance is going backwards
* use of expensive private agency staff has increased by 53 per cent
* use of private doctors to cover shifts increased by 22 per cent
* 71 per cent of vacancies for accident and emergency staff lie unfilled for six months
And the report concluded that the Scottish Government are not making sufficient progress towards their 2020 vision for a health service that is able to shift the balance of care to patients’ home and communities rather than hospital wards.
Ms Beamish said: “It is clear from Audit Scotland’s damning report that both staff and patients are being badly let down by the bungling management of the NHS.
“Staff are working incredibly hard trying to do more with less and patients are seeing the reality of the NHS today.”
She added: “Audit Scotland’s report shows beyond doubt that health service spending has decreased in real terms, key targets are being missed and private agency staff are being used to try and meet staffing gaps.
“We need an immediate action plan to fix current problems urgently and we also need a service which is fit for the future and, in the long term, there needs to be cross party consensus in order to shift the balance of care into patients’ homes and communities. Ultimately the needs of patients must come first.”
However, a statement released by Health Secretary Shona Robison addresses many of the concerns that Ms Beamish has highlighted.
Ms Robison said: “The Scottish Government has a clear vision for the future of our NHS and we will continue to take the right action to ensure that Scotland continues to have an NHS that it can be proud of today and in the future.
“However, I agree with Audit Scotland that we need to up the pace of change on our 2020 vision to provide more care in the community – something that I made clear during a speech to NHS staff in June.”