Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Tighter budgets, rising costs, higher demand and targets pressure all bringing down Scottish NHS

NHS
NHS

The Audit Scotland report warns the NHS north of the border will not be able to provide the same level of service in the future unless urgent action is taken.

Tightening budgets, rising costs, higher demand, pressure to meet targets and increased staff vacancies are all cited as factors in what opposition politicians believe is a deepening crisis.

The report also says the Scottish Government has not made sufficient progress towards its 2020 vision to change the balance of healthcare to more community-based settings.

Doctors said “substantive action” was needed to address the report’s findings, while opposition parties called for SNP ministers to “get a grip” on the NHS.

Audit Scotland found health boards missed seven out of nine key waiting time targets and standards at March 2015, “reflecting a general decline in performance in recent years”.

Boards spent £284million on temporary staff in 2014-15 – an increase of 15% from the previous financial year.

The number of agency nursing and midwifery staff increased by 53%, while spending on locum doctors increased by 22%.

Caroline Gardner, auditor general for Scotland, said: “We all depend on the NHS and its staff who provide high-quality care.

“But it will not be able to provide services as it does at present due to the number of pressures it faces within the current challenging financial environment.”

Dr Peter Bennie, chair of BMA Scotland, said: “The overriding message that must get through from this report is that substantive and realistic action is needed if our health service is to cope with the rapidly increasing pressures it is facing.”

Royal College of Nursing Scotland associate director, Ellen Hudson, said: “If we are to put the NHS on a sustainable footing, then the government needs to take heed of the recommendations in this report.”

Health boards spent a total of £11.4billion, ending the year with an underspend of £10 million.

The report said the health budget had decreased by 0.7% in real terms between 2008-09 and 2014-15.

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Jim Hume said: “The findings of this latest report are stark – unless SNP ministers get a grip, the 2020 vision will not be achieved.

“NHS boards have been forced to scramble to address staff shortages and short-term arrangements have replaced long-term planning. This is clearly not sustainable.”

Conservative health spokesman Jackson Carlaw said: “Patients deserve far better and the NHS needs far more support, which is why Scottish Conservatives have promised an additional 1,000 nurses, not 1,000 empty SNP words.”