There might be a health crisis but at least the SNP aren’t short on rose-tinted spectacles. It was always going to be interesting to see how Humza Yousaf approached the health service in his new programme for government – given the massive decline in performance on his watch. But rather than adopt a solemn approach (or even, gasp, apologise for the health service failings), Yousaf struck a somewhat triumphant tone.

Is the First Minister perhaps struggling with his statistics? Mr S wonders whether Yousaf has forgotten the latest figures that show that, overall, 800,000 Scots are stuck on NHS waiting lists, or that a quarter of patients are still waiting longer than four hours before being seen in A&E. Bed-blocking meanwhile hit an all time high only months ago. Health secretary Michael Matheson claimed there was transparency on figures — the ones crammed into the back of a Public Health Scotland booklet that is and not, er, in Yousaf’s announcement. ‘We’re very open and transparent about it,’ he assured reporters on Wednesday morning. But of all the many figures Matheson is referring to, it appears the First Minister cherrypicked possibly the only positive statistic available on the health service to include in his speech yesterday. How very transparent…

Another example of the SNP’s warped view of transparency involves the disgraced neurosurgeon Sam Eljamel. The NHS Tayside doctor is thought to have botched hundreds of brain operations, leaving patients suffering from pain and disability. Although a shocking report released last year revealed multiple failings in the health board that should have protected vulnerable patients, the Scottish government has certainly dragged its heels. Even when a distressed patient begged Yousaf at his recent independence convention to launch a public inquiry, he politely walked her out of the room — and has so far done nothing much else. Patients took to staging a ‘gory protest’ outside the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday in a bid to get the government’s attention. While Mr S has heard whispers that Matheson may commit more fully in his parliamentary speech today, he yesterday refused to confirm the launch of a public inquiry. More of that fabled SNP transparency on display, then…

Want to see more SNP fails? – Environment Matters