Murdo has slammed the SNP Government for ignoring patients in Tayside waiting for key diagnostic tests and focusing instead on independence.
He was commenting on the latest figures released by Public Health Scotland (PHS), which show that 463 patients had to wait more than 52 weeks to be seen in Tayside, and 753 waited more than 39 weeks.
The eight key diagnostic tests are upper endoscopy, lower endoscopy, colonoscopy, cystoscopy, CT scan, MRI scan, barium studies and non-obstetric ultrasound. The total waiting list size (number of ongoing waits) for the eight key tests combined was 150,014 across Scotland. This represents a 4% (+5,750) increase from the previous quarter-end when there were 144,264 ongoing waits.
Commenting, Murdo said: “The latest figures for patients in Tayside waiting for these key diagnostic tests are truly shocking and are a damning indictment on this SNP Government, who prefer to concentrate instead on campaigning for independence. To have 463 patients in Tayside having to wait more than a year to have tests for the likes of a CT scan or for colonoscopy just beggars’ belief and sums up the twisted priorities of this SNP Government.
“I know from campaigning for the General Election that many people in Perthshire are tired of hearing all the usual excuses trotted out by First Minister John Swinney, and his defence of the former Health Minister Michael Matheson over the I-pad scandal is a disgrace. This shameful episode where John Swinney has severely criticised the procedures at the Scottish Parliament has not gone down well with voters in Perthshire.”
Murdo continued: “It is time the SNP Government spent more time in concentrating on trying to sort out the beleaguered NHS. We constantly see alarming waiting times for A & E patients across Scotland, and here we have shocking statistics on the number of patients in Tayside waiting for vital diagnostic tests.”
