A young Ukrainian refugee flew back to war-torn Kyiv for treatment because the wait to see a GP in Scotland was so long.
Alex Cole-Hamilton raised case of Maria, a woman now living in Glasgow, as he challenged Nicola Sturgeon on the crisis facing the NHS.
The 22-year-old took the decision to fly back to her home city in order to take a blood test after failing to find an appointment with NHS Greater Glasgow.
The Scottish Lib Dem leader had told MSPs that one in six people who were not able to secure a GP appointment carried out a procedure on themselves or had someone else do it.
Cole-Hamilton said: "Maria is 22 years old. She is a Ukrainian refugee who has been living in Scotland since the summer. She suffers from a hormonal thyroid condition which requires regular testing and treatment.
"But when she presented to her new GP, she faced an unexpected dilemma. The wait was so long that it actually made more sense for her to risk travelling back to a war zone to see her doctor in Kyiv, and so she did."
"The air raid sirens, the drone strikes and the cruise missile attacks of the Ukrainian capital were less daunting to Maria than the wait for treatment on Scotland’s NHS. That is appalling.
“These are the risks that people are taking for the sake of their health, and all for the want of basic access to primary care.
"Can I ask the First Minister, is she embarrassed by this?”
Sturgeon told MSPs she did not know the specifics of the case the Lib Dem leader was referring to.
She added: "We again continue to support general practice. There are more GPs per head of population in Scotland than anywhere else in the UK – 83 GPs per 100,000 population here compared to 63 in England, 63 in Wales, 75 in Northern Ireland.”
The First Minister continued: "Access to GPs like access to other areas of the health service right now is challenging – and very challenging for some patients – and we continue to work to address that."
Maria was waiting for blood tests in order to monitor a hormonal condition which affects her thyroid and to avoid taking medication unnecessarily.
The refugee was told there were no appointments for her to give blood or for other tests.
She then made the decision to seek treatment instead in her home city of Kyiv despite the ever-present danger of Russian bombing.
Speaking earlier, the SNP leader had conceded that too many patients are having to wait too long for care in the NHS.
She said: "There are too many patients right now waiting too long for treatment."
She added: `'The vast majority of patients in this country, even during these extremely difficult times, get excellent care on our National Health Service and that is down to the dedication of those who work in it.
`'That is why they have my grateful thanks each and every single day.`'
The First Minister denied reports that nurses in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde – Scotland’s largest health board – are being asked to work 24-hour shifts.
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