Hospitals cannot afford the added pressure of a junior doctor strike, Scottish Labour has warned as a new report shows rising numbers of operations being cancelled for capacity reasons.

In May 2023 the number of operations cancelled for capacity/non-clinical reasons across Scotland shot up by 22.7 percent compared to the previous month.

In that one month 69 patients in the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde region alone had their operation cancelled the day of or the day before they were due to be treated because of the pressure the hospital was under.

Despite some improvement, the number of planned operations taking place each month continues to lag well below pre-pandemic levels, with 18.1 percent fewer operations planned in May 2023 than in May 2019 across the health board which covers Dumbarton constituency.

With the prospect of strike action from junior doctors looming, there is a very real risk that operations could be hit hard and progress treating people stuck on record NHS waiting lists could be set back further, Jackie Baillie has warned.

The Dumbarton constituency MSP said: “Far too many patients are being failed because hospitals simply cannot cope – stuck for months or even years on NHS waiting lists, only to have their operation cancelled at the last minute.

“In May alone within the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area which includes my constituency, 69 patients had their operations cancelled at short notice. That is more than two people every day who have expected to go through a clinical procedure being left to wait even longer. It is unacceptable.

“Staff are working tirelessly to keep things going, but they are also being let down by the SNP’s disastrous mismanagement of our NHS.

“This bleak picture is set to get worse still if the SNP fail to prevent strike chaos from hitting services and driving up waiting lists.

“The reality is Scottish hospitals cannot afford any more pressure – the SNP must get round the table and agree a fair deal for junior doctors now.”