Patients in Scotland are experiencing wait times exceeding two years for basic phone or video consultations with doctors, according to newly released figures. This situation stands in contrast to the Scottish National Party's (SNP) decade-long push for virtual healthcare, intended to reduce waiting periods, cut costs, and minimize missed appointments.
The data, obtained by The Mail on Sunday from ten of Scotland's 14 health boards, indicates that over 1.5 million appointments were conducted via phone or video call in the past three years. While average waiting times varied from days to months depending on the health board and specialty, the longest recorded waits highlight significant delays.
Conservative health spokesman Miles Briggs described the findings as "completely unacceptable," stating that virtual consultations should not lead to such prolonged waits. He criticized the SNP's focus on virtual healthcare, asserting that the figures show too many patients are unable to secure appointments.
Specific examples of extended waits include a 377-day wait for a pediatric dental specialist consultation and an eight-month wait for a child needing a virtual surgery consultation within NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. NHS Highland reported a virtual pediatric appointment wait exceeding a year, while NHS Lothian's longest wait was five and a half months.
Adult patients have faced even longer delays. NHS Orkney recorded a wait of 927 days, or two years and six months, for a virtual consultation with a psychiatrist. In NHS Ayrshire and Arran, a patient waited 969 days, or two years and seven months, for a virtual appointment regarding general surgery. NHS Fife saw a patient wait 790 days for an ear, nose, and throat specialist, and NHS Dumfries and Galloway had a patient wait one year and nine months for a virtual trauma and orthopedic surgery consultation.
Other delays include a nine-month wait for an initial pain management consultation at NHS Grampian and up to 49 weeks for new neurology patients to connect virtually with a specialist at the same health board. The current national target for new outpatient appointments is 12 weeks.
Scottish Labour health spokeswoman Dame Jackie Baillie called the situation "farcical," arguing that technology should alleviate NHS pressure but instead, under the SNP, patients face long waits for limited care.
In Glasgow, cancer patients reportedly waited up to 260 days for phone consultations regarding specific cancer therapies, and a cardiology patient waited 556 days for a video call. These figures echo concerns previously raised, with former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon having described a two-year wait for a similar phone consultation as unacceptable in 2022.
Since April 2023, over 1.5 million phone or video appointments have taken place, with NHS Greater Glasgow accounting for more than half of these. A Scottish Government spokesperson noted that "significant progress has been made on waiting times," citing a 13-month consecutive fall in outpatient waits exceeding 52 weeks and a 168,000 increase in appointments and procedures last year.