Three billion reasons why money alone won't fix Scotland's NHS – especially when spent by SNP
The SNP has spent eye-watering sums on the NHS in Scotland but waiting lists remain stubbornly long
The Auditor General’s recent NHS in Scotland report makes for grim reading. It shows that while health spending continues to rise – from £20.6 billion in 2024/5 to £22.5bn following the recent Budget – outcomes for patients are not improving.
In 2024/25, health spending made up 37.5 per cent of total Scottish Government spending. It’s the largest area of devolved public spending in Scotland, ahead of welfare, justice, or education.
Despite this, the NHS is clearly struggling. As the report states, NHS Scotland is “not in a financially sustainable position”. This is acutely felt at a local level; seven NHS boards now rely on loans from the Scottish Government to stay afloat.
8am GP appointments scramble
This has huge ramifications for patients. Taking just one example highlighted by Audit Scotland, the Scottish Government has failed to meet five out of six of its targets on long waiting times.
That means too many people are waiting over 18 months for an appointment. That’s before we look at the unavailability of mental health services, the 8am GP appointments scramble, or the fact that NHS Scotland still does not have a universal digital app, something the NHS in England enjoys.
Then of course, there’s the scandal of delayed discharge. At First Minister’s Questions, my colleague Alex Cole-Hamilton raised the case of 62-year-old Margaret MacGill, who has been in hospital for over 400 days and remains there, even though her home has been adapted to allow her to live in it.
The reason why Margaret cannot leave hospital is that the carers she needs aren’t available. If her case was unique, that would be one thing, but the reality is too many people are deemed fit to leave hospital but can’t.
Prevention better than cure
As I’ve learned from my time as the Public Audit Committee’s deputy convenor, simply throwing more money at the NHS is not the solution nor is it making people healthier. Preventative healthcare is barely on the SNP’s radar, yet it’s blindingly obvious that keeping people out of hospital is cheaper than treating them once it’s too late.
Despite the eye-watering sums, the extra £3bn and 20,000 extra NHS staff since 2019, outcomes aren’t improving, and waiting times are stubbornly high.
The SNP is out of ideas, and has its priorities skewed. It’s all very well to talk about record investment but if that money is not getting to where it needs to be, then we might as well burn it.
Scottish Liberal Democrats are clear that when it comes to Scotland’s NHS, it’s not just fresh funding that’s needed – it’s fresh ideas. That’s why we’ve called for a change in approach.
We believe the problem ultimately lies in social care which, as in Margaret’s case, keeps patients in hospital when they should be home returning to normality. If we get that right, we can alleviate the pressure on A&E, waiting times and GP surgeries.
Any discussion of NHS reform makes people understandably nervous. We all care about it deeply. It is a national treasure, after all, which we all have a personal connection with. But this is precisely why we need to have a grown-up conversation which reflects on the Auditor General’s stark warning: money alone won’t fix this problem.
Jamie Greene MSP is Scottish Liberal Democrat finance spokesperson
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