NHS waiting list purge promised
Scotland's health minister has set out ambitious targets to cut waiting times for hospital treatment.
Andy Kerr told the Scottish Parliament that greater use will be made of the private sector in diagnosing and treating NHS patients.
Mr Kerr said that by 2007 no-one will wait more than 18 weeks for an outpatient appointment, and then no more than 18 weeks for treatment.
But the targets fall short of what has been promised to patients in England.
The NHS already makes limited use of spare capacity in the private sector but Scotland's new health minister wants to go further.
'Good progress'
Mr Kerr has already held talks with six private healthcare providers but has yet to say how much of the NHS backlog he wants to contract out.
The minister said NHS patients would witness "significant change" over the next three years on waiting lists.
"Not so long ago, patients were waiting up to 18 months for inpatient/day case treatment," he said.
"We cut that down to 12 months, now nine, and will reduce it to six months by the end of the year.
"For all procedures by the end of 2007 no one will wait more than 18 weeks from GP referral to an outpatient appointment.
"We have made very good progress in tackling the three big killers in Scotland - cancer, heart disease and stroke - but we have to do more."
The health minister added: "The NHS does a great job for the people of Scotland and in many aspects offers patients the best service in the UK."
However, Unison Scottish organiser for health Jim Devine is angry with the proposals.
Mr Devine said: "The private sector is parasitical as it recruits qualified NHS staff without contributing to their training costs.
"Private medicine is grossly inefficient as its administration costs are three times that of the NHS and its prices per operation are more expensive."
There has obviously been no coherent view of how to tackle the problems of the NHS
Shona Robison
SNP health spokeswoman
Mr Kerr will bring forward the private sector to make use of unused wards - including the Golden Jubilee National Hospital in Clydebank and provide patients with evening and weekend appointments.
Another suggestion is the development of mobile diagnostic and treatment centres provided through contracts with the private sector, to free up more capacity in hospitals.
Scottish National Party health spokeswoman Shona Robison said any new measures, such as the diagnostic treatment centres, should be introduced in the NHS rather than privately.
She said the Scottish Executive was giving up on the health service after failing to improve workforce planning, capacity or waiting times.
"It seems to me a desperate measure to turn round and say private measures will be a panacea to all our problems," she said.
Playing 'catch-up'
"There has obviously been no coherent view of how to tackle the problems of the NHS."
And Ms Robison said using the private sector could only damage the NHS by reducing capacity and poaching staff.
Scottish Socialist Party health spokeswoman Carolyn Leckie added: "Instead of contraction and contracting out, Scotland's NHS needs an expansion of capacity.
"The Labour Party in Scotland is writing the obituary of the NHS."
Scottish Conservative health spokesman David Davidson said the executive was being forced to play "catch-up" in collaborating with the private sector after such measures proved successful in England.
He said: "Where there is not enough capacity in the NHS, the executive has a duty to contract out to ensure there is sufficient capacity to deal with the issue of patients waiting times."
And he questioned whether the measures would be any comfort to the people who have not received treatment over the last few years "because the executive would not consider the policies that have worked down south".
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/scotland/4097055.stm
Published: 2004/12/15 16:17:29 GMT
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