Ruth Davidson has claimed the Scottish Government’s “scandalous” handling of the NHS has left it in crisis.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon clashed with opposition leaders over the state of the health service following the publication of a damning Audit Scotland report yesterday.
The independent inquiry, which was branded “the worst since devolution”, showed NHS Grampian and NHS Highland have been underfunded by more than £20million by the Scottish Government this year.
The revelation follows increasing concern about the provision GP services across the north of Scotland, as well as a ballooning use of agency staff.
At First Minister’s Questions yesterday, Tory leader Ms Davidson accused the first minister of abandoning the NHS – a claim Ms Sturgeon rebuffed.
Ms Davidson said: “I think we need to spell out things today for what they are – that is the failure of this government to get to grips with our NHS and it is an outrage.
“Health boards are having to make huge savings to break even, to take out loans to keep going and to put off essential repairs to hospital buildings.
“I call it a scandal.”
Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale also challenged the first minister on the “damning” report.
“Nicola Sturgeon cannot ignore what patients and staff are saying about the NHS in Scotland,” she told MSPs.
“The Audit Scotland report is damning. The independent experts have produced a grim diagnosis after a decade of SNP control of the NHS.”
Her health spokesman, Anas Sarwar, made an 11th hour bid to secure an emergency debate on the report, but was snubbed by Presiding Officer Ken Macintosh.
Mr Sarwar said the Audit Scotland report was “the worst since devolution” and claimed Health Secretary Shona Robison was “out of her depth”.
But Ms Sturgeon hit back at her critics, suggesting the health service in Scotland was more successful than its counterparts in the rest of the UK.
She told MSPs: “Over the last decade, there have been improvements in the way health services are delivered.
“There have been reductions in the time to wait for hospital treatments. There have also been improvements in overall health, life expectancy, patient safety and survival rates for a number of conditions such as heart disease.
“Presiding officer, these are not my words, that is the first paragraph of the Audit Scotland report. Context is important.
“Notwithstanding all of that the NHS does face challenges – it faces rising demand. These challenges are in no way unique to Scotland, they are common to health systems around the world.”