JOHN Swinney attacked the Scottish Labour leader during FMQs, branding him “absolutely in denial” over the challenges faced by the NHS during the pandemic.

Scotland's health service, particularly the ambulance service, has faced serious challenges in recent months. 

Long waits for ambulances prompted the Scottish Government to call in the help of both the Army and firefighters to drive some non-emergency vehicles.

Between October and November, 179 new staff will have joined the Scottish Ambulance Service and a further 177 will be recruited by March 2022.

In Holyrood today Anas Sarwar confronted the deputy first minister over NHS staffing problems, A&E delays and a shortage of nurses – saying the problems had existed long before the pandemic.

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Swinney apologised to the family of Richard Brown, a 55-year-old man who died in the stairs of his building after waiting five hours for an ambulance at the weekend.

He said an investigation has been launched by the ambulance service into what happened.

“Let’s be absolutely clear, people are dying because of these choices – and NHS staff have been warning about them for long before Covid,” Sarwar told the Chamber.

“There’s a pattern here," he went on. "The Royal College of Nurses tell us there’s not enough nurses? The Government deny it. Emergency and medicine doctors say delays are causing deaths. No acknowledgement of that from this government. Consultants are telling us that hospitals need at least 1000 new beds to keep up with demand, this government cut beds by 1300 over the last decade. Patients are telling us of long delays at A&E, the Health Secretary’s answer? Tell patients not to go to A&E.

“The problem is not patients or staff, the problem is this out of touch and hopeless government that is presiding over a crisis in our NHS.

“What will it take for this government to act?” he asked. “Why does this government believe that they know best and not the nurses and the doctors on the front line of our NHS?”

In response, Swinney said the Labour chief was “absolutely in denial about the effect of Covid on our health service”.

“That is the problem in this exchange. Mr Sarwar seems to think that the challenges we face in our National Health Service today are somehow unique to Scotland," the Covid Recovery Secretary went on. "Every single healthcare system in the western world is facing the same problems. Yet, apparently, according to Mr Sarwar, the impact of Covid is irrelevant to that process. I am not going to accept that.

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“The Government has made the investment and will continue to engage in discussion with trade unions, employees, health boards, with the ambulance service, to make sure we have all the capacity in place to deliver on these services.”

However Swinney went on to say the NHS challenges highlight the need to take cautious steps about Covid – pointing out that some MSPs aren’t prepared to support that.

“We do them to protect the people of this country,” the deputy FM said. “And we’ll make no apologies for doing that.”