A poll conducted by the Sunday Times Scotland has shown that 46% of Scots believe that the NHS has deteriorated under the stewardship of SNP.
The Panelbase poll showed that a fifth believe that it has stayed the same since the SNP took power in 2007, while only a quarter believe it has improved.
The Scottish Conservatives have said that the poll is yet further evidence of the SNP’s dismal management of the NHS, and that Scots are looking for change and for new ideas and fresh leadership for the NHS in Scotland.
They also highlighted that many of the current problems stemmed from Nicola Sturgeon’s decision as health secretary, such as to cut the number of student nurses has led to the quadrupling of the number of unfilled Scottish nursing posts.
Scottish Conservative shadow health secretary Miles Briggs MSP said:
“This polling is a real insight into the dismal view many Scots have of the SNP’s stewardship of our NHS.
“The SNP have presided over a workforce crisis in our NHS, a crisis in social care services and increasingly seem to have no vision on how to build a sustainable and preventative focused NHS for the future.
“And it is now clear that many of the challenges and problems which have built up in the Scottish NHS in recent years have been down to the poor decisions taken by Nicola Sturgeon whilst she was health secretary.
“After 11 years of SNP mismanagement it is clear that Scots are looking for change and for new ideas and fresh leadership for our Scottish NHS.
“Building a sustainable NHS needs to be the priority for everyone. The Scottish Conservatives are determined to provide the resources and future vison to meet Scotland’s future health and social care needs.”