More than 34,000 waits for treatment in Scotland’s NHS are still open after more than a year, new figures show, despite a Government pledge to reduce the number to zero.
Figures published by Public Health Scotland on Tuesday show 33,972 waits remained open as of March 31.
Last year, First Minister John Swinney and Health Secretary Neil Gray committed to eradicated year-long waits, but Mr Swinney has since said it will take a “short number of months” to meet the target, with the SNP manifesto pledging to end waits of 26 weeks or more by the end of the parliamentary term.
After years of broken promises and spin, no-one believes a thing the SNP is saying in this election
According to the figures, there are 641,602 waits still open in both inpatient and outpatient treatment, which is down from 647,617 the month before.
In March, almost 155,000 waits were open for inpatient procedures, compared to 486,695 for outpatient treatment.
The statistics showed 3,666 waits of more than two years, which is down from 4,646 the month before.
Responding to the figures, Scottish Labour deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie said “another SNP promise lies in tatters”.
“After years of broken promises and spin, no-one believes a thing the SNP is saying in this election,” she said.
“Thousands of Scots are languishing on NHS waiting lists for years at a time but John Swinney and the SNP are arrogant enough to say their plan is working.
“The SNP is complacent, out of touch and cannot be trusted with our NHS – but this is not as good as it gets.”
A Scottish Labour government, Dame Jackie said, would “turn the page on SNP failure”.
Scottish Tory health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said: “These shocking figures show NHS waiting lists remain appallingly high after two decades of SNP failure.
“John Swinney promised Scots year long waits for patients would be eradicated by the end of March, but he has miserably failed to do so.
“Tens of thousands of patients are still suffering these agonising waits for treatment which has a devastating impact on their physical and mental health.
“Swinney has been at the heart of an SNP government who have repeatedly broken their promises on the NHS because they have prioritised their independence obsession instead.”
While Health Secretary Mr Gray said defended his party’s record on the NHS.
“Under John Swinney’s leadership, the SNP is relentlessly focused on improving Scotland’s NHS – and these latest figures show that our plan is working,” he said.
“Long waits are now down for ten months in a row – with new outpatient waits of over 52 weeks nearly 75% lower than they were this time last year.
“Operation numbers are up, GP numbers up and we are opening GP walk-in centres in communities all over Scotland.
“With analysis last week showing that the Labour Party would slash £1 billion from Scotland’s NHS budget, only the SNP can be trusted with our health service.
“We are the only party with a serious plan for our NHS, and under John Swinney’s reliable and experienced leadership it is paying off.”