Sarwar vows to ‘fix’ NHS amid rise in patients opting for private health care

Labour’s Anas Sarwar has pledged his party will “fix” an NHS that he claims is “no longer free and available at the point of need” for all Scots.

With the Scottish Labour leader saying “more and more” people are being forced to resort to private health care, he said, under the SNP, patients could no longer “rely on the service in their time of need”.

Sarwar launched the attack after figures from April to June 2024 showed 12,660 cases of patients using private health care for in-patient or day case procedures – with this 7% higher than the same period in 2023 and a new record high.

The most common private procedures include cataract surgery and hip replacement, with Labour claiming that increasing numbers were having to “spend their savings and remortgage their homes” rather than wait on NHS lists for treatment.

As well as the rise in patients opting for private surgery, the number of private GP clinics in Scotland is also reported to have tripled since 2019, while some are also struggling to register with an NHS dentist.

With Scottish Labour due to set out its plans for the NHS at its conference, which starts in Glasgow on Friday February 21, Sarwar hit out at the Scottish Government.

He said: “Under the SNP, Scotland’s NHS is no longer free and available at the point of need for all of the people of Scotland.

“The facts are clear for all to see – more and more Scots are being forced to spend their savings and remortgage their homes for life-saving surgery and some routine operations are becoming almost exclusively the reserve of the private sector.

“The fundamental contract of universal healthcare for Scots taxpayers has been broken by the SNP, with Scots unable to rely on the service in their time of need.”

Sarwar insisted: “Enough is enough – a Scottish Labour government will fix our NHS and return the service to its founding principles.

“We will do whatever it takes to clear the backlogs and empower frontline nurses and doctors.

“At our conference, we will lay out our vision for the future of the NHS.

“Scottish Labour will deliver a new direction for our NHS that will fix the service, tackle the backlogs and save lives.”

The Scottish Government has been contacted for comment.