NHS Scotland published its treatment and diagnostic waiting times statistics this week. The figures include waiting times for tests such as CT scans, ultrasounds, MRIs and cameras down the gullet or into the bowel.
While there is understandable disappointment that these figures have shown that fewer patients are getting their diagnostics completed in the target six-week window, there has also been a torrent of unfounded conclusions being drawn from fairly limited data.
Proper scrutiny and examination should be given to these figures to determine causes of this drop (for which there are likely to be many complex factors). However, the scaremongering by politicians such as Conservative MSP Miles Briggs, that “cancer and brain tumour” tests are being delayed, is unfair to those patients currently worried about or undergoing assessment for those conditions – particularly when there is insufficient evidence within the data provided at this point to conclude that.
It is worth noting that, while not excusable as a reason for missing the target, many of these tests are done in the context of more benign conditions, and all test requests are usually screened by a consultant or specialist practitioner in that field and priority given according to their assessment. This ensures that tests for suspected cancers and other serious conditions take priority based on the history that is given.
I have previously called for a more stringent evidence-based approach to political commentating in healthcare, particularly on critical patient-centred areas such as this, where misreporting of statistics can cause considerable distress and alarm to some of our most vulnerable patients. If there are issues with the care provided, these should be addressed in a constructive way to ensure every patients journey meets the gold standards we set.
Health is at a critical juncture in Scotland, and the way we think about good health and ill-health is changing. Much of the care we provide focuses on getting folk patched up after periods of ill-health rather than protecting good health.
Money and resources for the NHS account for a small portion of the solution to ill-health in Scotland. A systemic rethink of the key areas outside healthcare which impact on the health of our nation – such as housing, nutrition, education, employment and the fundamental ways our communities function – is needed to safeguard good health and ensure the NHS is able to treat those who fall into ill-health.
Only with the full levers of policy making in these key areas can Scotland hope to tackle the challenges facing our health service.
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