JOHN Swinney was today accused of an “absurd” bid to blame our NHS crisis on old people.
The First Minister pointed to Scotland’s rising elderly population and said hospitals were admitting patients who have become sicker due to longer waiting times caused by Covid.
Scottish Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie hit out: “Our ageing population is no secret.
“John Swinney has had just shy of 18 years to see this challenge coming.
“And while he’s right that patients waiting longer will turn up with more complex conditions, his government has been in charge of waiting times since 2007. It’s his fault.”
Ms Baillie’s blast came after the First Minister was asked why our NHS is taking longer than England to recover from the pandemic.
He replied: “People are presenting in the health service with more complexity and frailty because of the ageing population.
“And because people are waiting longer, sometimes the level of acuity is more severe.
The SNP have had years to get on the front foot with population change but sat on their hands
Alex Cole-Hamilton
“That presents a greater challenge.”
Scottish Lib Dems leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said his comments “don’t hold water”.
He added: “The SNP have had years to get on the front foot with population change but sat on their hands.
“Blaming waits on waits is absurd.”
Scottish Tory health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane weighed in: “The public are sick and tired of John Swinney’s excuses on the permanent crisis the SNP have created in Scotland’s NHS.
“The buck stops with his party.”
The Nats leader yesterday refused to set out a target to reduce waiting times — just days after he vowed to “fix” the NHS before the Holyrood election in 2026.
Asked to be specific on sorting delays affecting almost 900,000 Scots, he said: “We’re working to get them down as much as we possibly can.
“I’ve set out the commitments we have given.”
Last year an Institute for Fiscal Studies report said Scotland’s NHS was “lagging behind” England’s in its recovery from Covid-19.
DEVASTATED pals have paid tribute during a vigil to a “pure-hearted and fun” schoolboy knifed to death on a bus in east London yesterday.
Arsenal fan Kelyan Bokassa, 14, was attacked in Woolwich on Tuesday afternoon.
Friends have gathered this evening to light candles in the teen’s memory at St Mary Magdalene church.
One of Kelyan’s friends described him as someone who would “always be there for you” at a vigil held after the 14-year-old was stabbed to death.
The teenage boy told those gathered the Woolwich church: “He was a fun guy. He had a pure heart. He would always be there for you.”
The friend then joked about Kelyan eating “bare food”.
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COPS have released an urgent warning after a pair of Siberian big cats escaped and are running loose in the Highlands.
It is claimed two Lynxes have been spotted in the Drumguish area near to the village of Kingussie.
Officers have warned locals to stay clear of the animals and to avoid the area as they attempt to trace the beasts.
Specialists from the Highland Wildlife Park are assisting Police Scotland in the hunt.
The public have been advised to call 101 if they see the cats.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Two lynx have been spotted in the Drumguish area near to Kingussie.
“Specially trained staff from Highland Wildlife Park are assisting officers to trace them.
“Do not approach the lynx or attend the area, but instead call police via 101. Quote inc no 2179/08/01/25 when calling.”
Previously we told how dozens of big cat sightings have been recorded in Scotland with one beast ‘the size of a Labrador’ said to have slaughtered 36 sheep.
And jaw-dropping footage captured the moment a “hybrid panther” is seen stalking through the Scottish countryside.
Or so says Gordon Welsh, 50, who was walking along the road near Blackdog, Aberdeenshire, when he spotted the animal.
While back in 2018, a teenager caused panic in Ayrshire after using a laser cutter to create a metal panther, which he then stuck in a field.
Robbie Brown, then 18, posted snaps on social media, which were shared hundreds of times, after a big animal was spotted near Sinclairston.
Police received a call about the hoax cat – and even sent out a helicopter with thermal imaging equipment to try and trace it.
Plans to release the Eurasian lynx into a 147-square-mile area of the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park near Loch Lomond were previously considered by NatureScot.
The animals were hunted to extinction in the UK more than 1,300 years ago.
Actor Steve Guttenberg talks about the impact of the devastating California wildfires and helping people in his neighborhood in Manhattan Beach. #fire #wildfire #shorts
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