Cancer patient forced to pay for private treatment amid NHS delays

The First Minister accepted delays can be “too long” as he was told how one health worker had spent almost a year’s salary on a private hip operation rather than wait three years.

And, in a separate case, an ovarian cancer patient has spoken out about “severe delays” in treatment for the disease that meant she was forced to rely on family and friends to raise £40,000 so she could have private surgery in London.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said the health worker, who was not identified was "hobbling to work on crutches" when she took cash from her "modest" pension to pay for the surgery.

Raising the issue at First Minister's Questions at the Scottish Parliament, the Labour leader said: "The total cost of this to her was £24,000.

"That is almost her entire annual salary on an operation that should have been free. That is scandalous."

He went on to tell the First Minister that "shockingly", cancer patients have also had to pay "thousands of pounds of their own money to fund 700 rounds of chemotherapy".

With the NHS having been set up on the principle of providing care free at the point of need, he claimed the system has been "broken" by the SNP

"Just in the last nine months, over 36,500 private procedures have been paid for by Scots," Mr Sarwar said.

He added that data for the first nine months of 2024 showed: "Scots have had to pay an estimated £17.6 million of their own money on cataract treatment, £30.8 million of their own money on hip replacements, and an estimated £16 million of their own money on knee replacements.

"Most shockingly of all, Scots have had to pay thousands of pounds of their own money to fund 700 rounds of chemotherapy.

"Scots having to pay for cancer care under John Swinney . This cannot go on."

Mr Swinney accepted the NHS is "finding difficulty" in meeting a key cancer waiting times standard, which states 95 per cent of patients should start treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral.

The latest figures, for July to September 2024 , showed 27.9 per cent of patients waited longer than that.

He stressed improving NHS waiting times generally is an "absolute priority" for him, but added: "I recognise that people are waiting too long for treatment in Scotland today."

He said he and Health Secretary Neil Gray are working "intensively" with NHS boards to tackle the issue, as he added that "progress has being made".

He cited a 4 per cent fall in the overall number of people waiting for diagnostic tests to be carried out.

Mr Swinney continued: "We are determined to focus on further improvements by ensuring we increase the capacity of the National Health Service, we increase productivity at local level, and we are able to meet the needs of the population.

"The Government is putting in place provisions through the work that is under way just now to deliver over 150,000 extra appointments and procedures."

Mr Swinney noted this is only possible because of record funding for the NHS in the 2025-26 Scottish Budget - but with Labour abstaining when MSPs voted on this, he claimed Mr Sarwar had been "posted missing" when the spending on the health service was set.

Meanwhile, Irene Hartshorn , 70, from Ayr, revealed she has written an open letter to Mr Swinney to call on the Scottish Government to "urgently review surgery provision nationally" for the disease.

Claiming she felt "disregarded and unsupported" by the NHS in Scotland , she said there are "unacceptable delays in accessing surgery".

She said: "There are 600 women diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year in Scotland and many of us face severe delays in getting the treatment we desperately need because of where we live."

Ms Hartshorn and others have now demanded the Scottish Government takes "action to improve access to surgery in the west of Scotland ."

Ms Hartshorn said access to the right treatment "is vital to improving chances of surviving ovarian cancer", she added that a survey by the charity Target Ovarian Cancer had found more than two-fifths (44 per cent) had experienced a delay in getting surgery, with 22 per cent saying they had to wait eight weeks or more.

Speaking during Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, Ms Hartshorn recalled: "My experience was traumatic. I'd waited months for a correct diagnosis of ovarian cancer, and then I faced an indefinite amount of time for my surgery to be scheduled.

"I felt disregarded and unsupported by the Scottish health system. No-one was taking responsibility of my treatment. I was expected to accept my fate.

"At a complete loss, I told my friends and family, who together raised £40,000 to fund my surgery privately in London ."

She said without this help from loved ones, she would either be "still in the waiting game, or dead".

But she added: "Many of us cannot afford to pay huge amounts of money for private treatment, so we either must advocate for ourselves or wait it out."

Her comments came as a petition was launched on the Target Ovarian Cancer website calling on the Scottish Government to act.

Health Secretary Neil Gray said: “I was very sorry to hear the concerns raised by Ms Hartshorn over treatment delays and wish her well in her recovery.

“Scheduling surgery for ovarian cancer can be challenging as it involves several medical specialties.

“Health boards are simplifying scheduling, increasing dedicated theatre capacity and improving working and training across surgical teams. This has already and will continue to reduce waiting times for ovarian cancer surgery.”