Scottish MP challenges Starmer on the life and death reality of NHS austerity

At Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs), Scottish Labour MP Katrina Murray told a story that is harrowingly reflective of the state of the NHS under austerity, in Scotland and in England.

“Dramatically changed” prognosis for the NHS

She said of the NHS:

My constituent Billy spent months trying to see a GP to investigate his symptoms. It took four months of telephone appointments before we finally got seen in person and actually got the test that diagnosed stage 4 cancer. A delay in diagnosis which has dramatically changed his prognosis and… as someone who’s become a friend, it hurts me to see the pain he is now living in. Does the prime minister agree with me that primary care is a vital part of the health care system and we need wider access to both in-person appointments and to telephone ones?

Delays in care for patients with cancer are an issue in Scotland, but it’s worse in England. 29% of patients are not receiving treatment within 62 days after an urgent referral. And waiting lists in Scotland stand at over 725,000 cases, the highest since records began.

In England, 74,000 people did not receive NHS cancer treatment within the target of 62 days after an urgent referral in 2024. That’s 38% of patients. This has been growing steadily worse with increasing demand and budget cuts.

There has been a real terms cumulative underspend of £425bn in UK public health spending since 2009/10, according to the British Medical Association (BMA). That can be seen in the increase in cancer patients facing delayed treatment. In 2014, in England, 16% of cancer patients weren’t treated in the timeframe of 62 days.

Starmer’s response?

In response at PMQs, Keir Starmer said:

Well I’m deeply sorry to hear about Billy’s case. And I’m sure the whole house is. And our focus has to be on making sure GPs spend more time caring for patients and that includes the investment of an additional £889 million into general practice in England and putting over 1,500 GPs into surgeries since October.

We did deliver a record settlement for Scotland’s public services to help fix our NHS and ensure people like Billy get the care that they deserve.

The thing is, the funding for England doesn’t make up for the previous austerity that the Conservatives delivered across the NHS.

And in Scotland, the Labour government has far-reaching restraints on the budget of the Scottish government. Westminster also allocates the largest component of its available money. Instead, Scottish independence advocates want their government to use the Scottish pound to invest.

The Labour Party government launched a request for evidence for its National Cancer Plan in February. But given the NHS was treating substantially more people on time a decade ago, the lack of funding is clearly a key issue. In January, Starmer said “we need an NHS hungry for innovation”. While healthcare improvements are welcome, the NHS has gone backwards on previous achievements largely because of austerity.

Featured image via the Canary