Scotland NHS ‘sleepwalking’ to a two-tier system, says BMA

Opposition parties said the warning, to be delivered at a BMA summit in Belfast on Tuesday, was a damning indictment of the SNP and made a mockery of John Swinney’s attempt to present his party as guardians of the health service.

“Scotland’s NHS is in a state of permanent crisis,” Dr Kennedy is expected to say. “Winter pressures are here 365 days a year.

“[Between July last year] and the end of April this year, over 58,000 patients have waited more than 12 hours in a Scottish A&E department – that’s 24 times greater than five years ago.

“This massive deterioration in performance is completely outwith the control of our doctors who work tirelessly in traumatic circumstances.”

He said that the statistics showed that the whole health and social care system was “not coping” with the founding principles of the NHS.

He reiterated his call for a “national conversation” on reform but said Scottish government plans in the area lacked “both clarity and urgency”.

“Long waits are forcing those who can afford it, to go private,” Dr Kennedy will warn. “A two-tier health service in Scotland is now beyond question. If you can stump up the cash, then you can get the care you need.

“But we all value an NHS free at the point of use. Yet, Scotland is sleepwalking into sacrificing this principle, threatening the very existence of the national health service as we know it.”

During the election campaign, Mr Swinney has repeatedly warned that Labour poses a risk to the NHS through plans to make more use of the private sector.

He has said Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, presents a “clear and present danger” to the Scottish NHS, despite health being a devolved issue.