Simple truth is that SNP has run out of ideas, talent and energy - Susan Dalgety

I am writing this through a bit of a haze. I have cataracts cooking in both eyes, but the one on my left eye, which has always been my weakest, is getting pretty ripe.

According to NHS Lothian, the current waiting time for an ophthalmology appointment is over 18 months, says Susan Dalgety

But who knows when I will be treated? According to NHS Lothian’s helpful outpatient waiting times calculator, the current waiting time for an ophthalmology appointment is 89 weeks, over 18 months. Surely that can’t be right?

I am also deaf in my right ear, and suffer from tinnitus that buzzes incessantly. I was referred for a hearing test a couple of months ago, but I can’t find out how long the average wait is because audiology waiting times have not been published since May 2014. The Scottish Government decided, with the NHS, that this information was “no longer required”.

I beg to differ. When you find yourself struggling to follow a simple conversation because you can’t hear properly, then knowing when you are likely to get a hearing aid is pretty important information.

If I had money to spare, I could always go to Specsavers for a full hearing package – including a diagnostic test, digital hearing aids and remote assistance. But I don’t. Upgrading the prescription on my glasses once a year, so I can see properly, is expensive enough without having to shell out to be able to hear as well.

But my gripes are minor compared to those people waiting for cancer treatment. I was struck by research published last week that shows that Scotland has the worst waiting times for chemotherapy in the UK, with patients waiting on average 65 days for their life-saving treatment.

I may not be able to see or hear as well as I would like, but cataracts and tinnitus are not going to kill me. Cancer could.

One of the biggest challenges facing the NHS is a shortage of qualified staff, with around 5,000 nursing vacancies in Scotland.

The infrastructure is creaking too. Edinburgh needs a new eye hospital, as the Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion is past its sell-by date. But plans to replace it have just been put on hold after the Scottish Government froze all new major NHS building projects for at least the next two years.

Lothian Labour MSP Sarah Boyack described the decision to delay the new hospital as a “national disgrace”, but the Finance Minister Shona Robison pushed the blame onto the UK government – despite the NHS being fully devolved.

Scotland’s NHS has been the full responsibility of the Scottish Government since May 1999. Under a scheme agreed in 1978, Scotland receives around 30 per cent more per person for public services than England gets. Many Scots pay more in income tax than they would if they lived in other parts of the UK. So why are our public services in such a sorry state?

Government ministers are quick to blame external factors such as the pandemic, and the UK government is always a useful fall guy for when things go wrong, but perhaps the truth is much more simple.

Perhaps the SNP government, after 17 years in power, has simply run out of ideas, talent and energy. Perhaps it is time for a change.