Endoscopy waiting times in Ayrshire and Arran have risen by more than 500 per cent, new figures show.
In November 2019, 190 patients waited longer than six weeks for an upper-endoscopy test in NHS Ayrshire and Arran.
However, In December 2021, this rose to 1,146, representing a massive increase of more than 500 per cent.
The figures come from Public Health Scotland.
They also show that 29.4 per cent of patients waited more than 54 weeks for upper endoscopy tests.
South Scotland Conservative List MSP, Sharon Dowey, has urged the Scottish Government to take swift action.
She said: “For months I’ve been calling on Humza Yousaf to reduce waiting times for vital services in NHS Ayrshire and Arran.
“I can see from the stats that almost half of all patients waited longer than six weeks for the endoscopy test in March 2019, long before the pandemic hit.
“We all know how important early detection is. Early detection can prevent complications down the line and increases the chance of survival of many diseases, including cancer.
“It isn’t acceptable to let patients wait over 54 weeks for an endoscopy, a test which could reveal serious health issues such as cancer.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Patients continue to be seen based on their clinical urgency, for example, those referred with an urgent suspicion of cancer continue to be prioritised for key diagnostic tests.
“To specifically support scope based diagnostics we have published an Endoscopy and Urology Diagnostic Recovery and Renewal plan backed by £70 million.”
Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley SNP MSP Willie Coffey said: “The SNP Scottish Government is investing more than £1bn in our NHS Recovery Plan to increase NHS capacity and help our health service recover from the pandemic and get back on its feet.
“There has been £70m of Scottish Government funding dedicated to the Endoscopy and Urology Diagnostic Recovery and Renewal Plan. This will include using innovative new technologies as an alternative to traditional endoscopy; providing 20,000 more procedures to support diagnosis of cancer and other digestive system conditions by March 2023, and by 25,000 each year thereafter until 2025.
"This will make a huge difference to people who have been waiting for a diagnosis and treatment.”
Elena Whitham, SNP MSP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, also chipped into the debate.
She said: "Ms Dowey has obviously missed the new plan for endoscopy and urology published in November by the Scottish Government developed with assistance from Bowel Cancer UK.
"People will be rightly anxious about waiting times but this pandemic has put huge strains on the health service.
“The Endoscopy and Urology Diagnostic Recovery and Renewal Plan, backed by £70 million investment, will focus on recovering services and supporting faster diagnosis of cancers and I’ll be meeting with NHS Ayrshire and Arran’s chief executive later this month to hear about how the heath board is remobilising as we emerge from the pandemic."
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