With 15 per cent of Scotland population on a waiting list and NHS health boards facing a deficit of £395 million, it’s time for some straight talking from our politicians

Another week, another revelation about the parlous state of the health service: NHS Scotland’s health boards are expected to hit a combined deficit of £395 million this year. As she laid out the position in a letter to MSPs, NHS Scotland chief executive Caroline Lamb said she had “made clear my expectations” that NHS boards must reduce the deficit and that she expected them to work towards making three per cent savings this financial year and next.

This comes after another telling statistic that, as of the end of September, a total of 828,398 people – about 15 per cent of the population – were on an NHS waiting list. Presumably, the cuts expected by Lamb are going to make reducing this staggering number even harder for the health service’s hard-working staff.

As NHS crisis deepens, politicians need to be brave enough to tell public the unpalatable truth – Scotsman comment