Scotland’s NHS is under immense pressure. From shortages across general practice to hospital consultants, there are simply not enough doctors in Scotland, writes Dr Iain Kennedy, chair of the British Medical Association (BMA) in Scotland.
Demand is outstripping capacity and doctors, as well as other healthcare workers, are being pushed beyond what we could or should expect of them.
This is making things worse for patients, faced with unacceptably long waits for care – or services that simply aren’t able to deliver as they should.
A&E waiting times are among the worst we’ve seen, delayed discharge causing huge problems at the front doors of our hospitals because our social care system also doesn’t have the capacity to cope with the number of people who need to come out of hospital and into community care.
There is not a single area of our health system across Scotland that is not under pressure in some shape or form.