by Dr Steve McCabe
JANUARY 2018 saw an unprecedented assault on NHS Scotland by Holyrood politicians. Nothing new there you might think. But this time it was coupled with an equally aggressive campaign by our press and broadcast media the likes of which I have never witnessed in my 35 years working in the NHS.
At the same time the Scottish NHS was hit with unprecedented demand. Our population is ageing and with that inevitably comes a higher level of chronic disease and debility and an increased likelihood of failure and falls. On top of that an icy winter saw the number of fractures attending our busy A&E departments rise by over 40%, stretching hard-pressed orthopaedic departments and operating theatres too. And to add insult to injury we were hit with a virtual epidemic of influenza, flooding GP surgeries and A&E departments, overloading medical and paediatric wards, filling up our intensive care beds and not infrequently killing people.
Such increases in demand create pressure on the whole system resulting in a shortage of GP appointments, busier A&E departments, longer waiting times for out-patient clinics, delayed waiting lists for surgery or other procedures and ‘blocked beds’ in hospitals.