NHS Grampian spent more than £7.5million sending patients to private surgeons last year.
Shock new figures have revealed the health board’s spending on outsourced operations has risen by almost 400% in the last six years.
NHS Grampian coughed up an average of more than £5,000 per outsourced operation in 2015/16 – the third highest spend in Scotland.
During the last nine years, it has given more than £30,000,000 to private healthcare providers to carry out operations.
Scottish Labour’s David Stewart said the figures showed the NHS was “struggling to keep up with demand under the SNP Government”.
Across the country, £50million was spent on private operations, with NHS Highland spending £50,000 on 15 surgeries.
The Scottish Government branded Mr Stewart’s claims “hypocritical”, adding that the bill for outsourced operations amounted to just 0.2% of NHS spending.
But Highlands and Islands MSP Mr Stewart responded: “This spend proves that the NHS is struggling to keep up with demand under the SNP Government.
“Many patients are only too willing to take up the offer of private operations due to their pain and suffering and who can blame them?
“However, money going to private operations should be invested in frontline care, doctors, nurses and hospitals.
“Spending more taxpayer cash on private health services is an indication of the problems experienced by our NHS.
“It is clear they don’t have the capacity or the resources to deliver the care which patients across Scotland need.”
NHS Grampian outsourced 1491 operations last year at a cost of £7,886,000.
Earlier this week, it emerged spending on private nursing agency staff at NHS Grampian had skyrocketed by more than 2700% in the last five years, while NHS Highland’s had increased by more than 200%.
A spokesman for Health Secretary Shona Robison said Labour had “presided over much higher private health spending when they were in office south of the border”.
He added: “It is Labour who are guilty of the most appalling hypocrisy – the reality is that since 2007, the total investment the SNP Government has made in health is almost £100billion, with the spending highlighted representing just 0.2% of this.”
An NHS Grampian spokesman said patients were treated privately for “a number of reasons”, including the need for specialist treatment or if the health board was unable to do planned elective procedures locally within the Treatment Time Guarantee target.
He added: “We are working hard to reduce our TTG referrals by investing in theatre capacity and staffing to meet future demand and the elective centre planned for Aberdeen Royal Infirmary has support and funding in place from the Scottish Government.”
