NHS Scotland must reform and improve - Neil Gray

Scotland's new health secretary said the NHS must reform and improve.

Neil Gray, who was appointed last week to replace Michael Matheson, said he wanted to "drive down" waiting times.

And he told BBC Scotland's The Sunday Show it was "unacceptable" that so many patients felt they had no choice but to go private.

Opposition MSPs later criticised the SNP's record and accused the party of "presiding over the decline" of the health service.

Mr Matheson resigned on Thursday ahead of the release of a report into an £11k data roaming bill racked up on his parliamentary iPad.

In his first interview since his appointment, Mr Gray said he would take his plans for reform to the cabinet in the near future after consulting officials, health service staff and trade unions.

He told the programme: "We need to see reform.

"We need to see improvements - and that includes improvements in productivity - and that is what I am going to be looking at in the coming weeks."

Mr Gray said the NHS was still recovering from the Covid pandemic and dealing with pressures linked to Brexit and inflation.

He also said it was seeing more people and faced "greater demands" across both the health and social care sectors.

But he added: "I want to continue to drive down waiting times, both for out-patient appointments and for in-patients, and for us to see a continued improvement in accident and emergency waiting times."

Mr Gray said he did not take his new role lightly and acknowledged the NHS was "cherished by people right across the country".

Asked if patients may have to pay for some services in the future, the health secretary said: "I want to make sure that Scotland continues to have an NHS that is free at the point of need and make sure that that continues to be the case going forward."

Mr Gray accepted that would be a "challenging proposition" due to funding pressures.

But he added: "We are committed to delivering a health and social care system that works for the people of Scotland."

The minister also denied the country had a "two-tier health service", with many patients going private rather than waiting for NHS treatment, and said he was committed to tackling "capacity issues".

Scottish Labour deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie condemned the government's record.

She told The Sunday Show: "We've had 17 years of the SNP presiding over a decline in our NHS."

Dame Jackie said almost one in six people in Scotland - about 830,000 people - were on a waiting list.

She added: "It's an extraordinary number and we are not doing enough to pull that back. In fact, it's getting worse not better."

Meanwhile, Scottish Conservative deputy health spokeswoman Tess White said Mr Gray had inherited a "poisoned chalice".

She said: "A report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies last week revealed that Scotland's NHS is treating fewer patients than pre-pandemic, which is a clear indictment of Humza Yousaf's failed Covid recovery plan.

"Waiting times in A&E and for cancer treatment are not just unacceptable, they are leading to needless deaths."

Ms White also accused the government of "financial mismanagement" and added: "Neil Gray said he will look at long-term plans to improve Scotland's NHS - but our health service is on its knees and needs action taken now."

Mr Gray, who led Mr Yousaf's SNP leadership campaign last year, had been the wellbeing economy, fair work and energy secretary since last March.

The former MP previously served as minister for culture, Europe and international development.

Mr Matheson announced he was standing down because he said he did not want a row over the bill - incurred during a family holiday to Morocco - to become a distraction from the government's work.

The £11,000 bill was initially paid out of the public purse.

When details of the fees emerged in November, Mr Matheson said the device had been used exclusively for parliamentary work.

He later admitted his sons had used the iPad's data as a hotspot to watch football matches. He apologised and repaid the fees.

The Scottish Parliament Corporate Body (SPCB) has been investigating whether Mr Matheson made an improper expenses claim.

Mr Matheson was told on Thursday that he would shortly be issued with a draft report of the investigation's provisional findings. He has been given two weeks to respond.

The SNP MSP had served as a government minister for more than 12 years, including almost a year as health secretary.

As a departing cabinet secretary Mr Matheson is entitled to £12,712 severance pay but, speaking on The Sunday Show, Mr Gray refused to say whether or not he would have accepted such a package under the same circumstances.

Mr Matheson quit two days after Elena Whitham resigned as drugs minister for health reasons.

Meanwhile, former health secretary Jeane Freeman said the Scottish government made "some serious missteps" handling the resignation of Mr Matheson and the subsequent reshuffle.

Speaking to The Sunday Show, she said the events took place on a day when the SNP "could have had a good go at Labour" due to Sir Keir Starmer's U-turn on spending £28bn a year on green industries.