Sirs,
It is beyond dispute that every health service in the world is facing greater problems due to increasing life expectancy and the high cost of new equipment and drugs to treat conditions which, in the past, would have been considered incurable.
Scotland is no exception. Yet, despite problems such as a larger share of elderly people and greater deprivation, the Scottish NHS is able to boast a record barely different to that of England and, in many cases, substantially better.
Letters: The NHS in Scotland
18 November 2016
The target for GP referral to treatment for cancer, for example, is 90% of patients being seen within 62 days. The most recent data shows Scotland achieving 89.7%. Some malcontents might grumble that this is a national disaster, and the SNP Government must be to blame.
The comparable figure for the Tory-
While the Scottish Government is continuing to pour huge sums of money into its NHS, the service in England and Wales is facing an existential crisis. With a deficit of £2,450 million, NHS Trusts in England have drawn up plans for massive closures of wards and entire hospitals and the plans are so terrifying that trust managers have been ordered to keep them secret (Daily Mirror 14th November).
NHS Scotland is facing many challenges. Peter Urpeth (Letters 17th November) should give its magnificent staff and inspired leadership full credit for what they are achieving, especially in the Western Isles which has one of the best records in Britain. He should examine what is happening in Tory England and Labour Wales and thank his lucky stars he lives in Scotland.
Dr David Wilson
12b Tolsta Chaolais
Isle of Lewis