Scottish Conservative and Unionist MSP Jeremy Balfour for Lothian has called on the SNP to guarantee NHS Lothian will be able to carry out vital operations wherever possible.
The MSP’s call comes after new figures showed that in the last six months between April and September, only 11,458 operations took place in NHS Lothian.
That compares to an average of 31,690 that took place between 2016-19, meaning a potential 20,232 were not carried out in recent months.
While Jeremy Balfour MSP says that everything must be done to tackle rising Covid cases, he says that the SNP must not forget about patients who are lying waiting for vital operations in NHS Lothian.
Mr Balfour has called on the SNP Government to urgently ensure that NHS Lothian and frontline staff are given the full resources to ensure patients are given urgent clarification as to whether their operations will go ahead or not.
Commenting, Scottish Conservative MSP Jeremy Balfour said:
“While we must do all we can to tackle the rise in Covid cases, the SNP must ensure patients in NHS Lothian who are waiting for vital operations are not simply forgotten about.
“It is concerning that a potential 20,232 will have been cancelled or put on hold in the last six months.
“The SNP must ensure that NHS Lothian and frontline staff are given the urgent resources necessary to ensure procedures can take place wherever possible.
“As we head into winter, waiting times for operations in NHS Lothian cannot spiral out of control.”
