Cut NHS waiting lists and economy will grow – Murray

If long NHS waiting lists are cut, the economy will grow, Scottish Secretary Ian Murray is expected to say.

According to figures released earlier this week, more than 700,000 people are thought to currently be on an NHS waiting list in Scotland for a procedure.

Speaking at an event in Edinburgh on Friday about Scotland’s potential in driving UK-wide economic growth, Mr Murray will highlight the number of people out of work as a result of ill health.

As of September last year, nearly 300,000 people were not working as a result of illness, 20,900 for the short term – less than 20 working days – and 271,600 for longer than that.

The rate of sickness absence from the workforce was higher in Scotland – 2.6% for short term and 33.5% for long term – compared to the rest of the UK, at 2%  and 28.5% respectively.

“One of the key reasons why Scotland’s inactivity rate is higher than the rest of the UK is because proportionately more people in Scotland aren’t able to work because of ill health.

“Many of these people want to work but currently can’t. Many of them are stuck on an NHS waiting list.

“As it stands, NHS waiting times are one of the biggest blocks on growing our economy.

“Almost 300,000 Scots are out of work and not looking for work because they are either temporary or long-term sick.

“Cut NHS waiting lists and you’ll grow our economy.

“Labour’s austerity-ending budget for public services in Scotland should deliver that.

“We’ll make no apology delivering the funding our NHS needs, and we now hope and expect the Scottish Government deliver better results for patients.”

SNP MSP Emma Harper said: “First Minister John Swinney has set out a clear plan to reduce waiting times and improve patient experiences in our NHS, delivering 150,000 additional procedures and increasing access to GPs.

“What won’t help our economy is the UK Labour Government’s plans to bring back austerity and cut billions of pounds from public spending – increasing poverty, hamstringing business and limiting opportunities.

“Ian Murray would be better served trying to influence Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves to scrap their catastrophic austerity plans than giving speeches on devolved issues, which don’t actually include any policy suggestions.”