John Swinney pressed on NHS

John Swinney spent one of the first big television debates of Scotland’s election campaign defending the National Health Service after rivals and voters challenged the Scottish National Party’s record. (scotsman.com) The clash came in the BBC’s Debate Night leaders special from Paisley Town Hall on Sunday, April 12, less than four weeks before the Scottish Parliament election on Thursday, May 7. (uk.news.yahoo.com) (parliament.scot) Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar told Swinney to “take some responsibility for once” over waiting times, while Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said ministers were being asked to make “miracles out of straw.” (scotsman.com) (x.com) Health has become a central line of attack because the Scottish National Party has run the devolved government since 2007 and John Swinney has held senior cabinet posts for much of that period before becoming first minister in May 2024. (parliament.scot) (gov.scot) The pressure is tied to hard numbers. Public Health Scotland says 10,374 patients waited more than 12 hours in accident and emergency in January 2026, and 19,806 waited more than eight hours, both record monthly totals. (news.stv.tv) (publichealthscotland.scot) Longer-term strain has also fed the argument. Audit Scotland said in December 2025 that health spending had risen by £3 billion since 2019 and staffing by more than 20,000, but performance had not improved in line with Scottish Government commitments. (audit.scot) Delayed discharge has added to the squeeze on hospitals. Audit Scotland said in January that more than 720,000 bed days were lost in 2024-25 because patients who were ready to leave hospital could not be discharged, often because social care support was unavailable. (news.sky.com) Opposition parties have tried to turn those figures into an election issue. Before the debate, Sarwar said the government had broken Scotland’s 12-week Treatment Time Guarantee 918,594 times, a campaign claim repeated in coverage of the leaders’ event. (independent.co.uk) (heraldscotland.com) Swinney’s answer has been to argue that his government is expanding capacity rather than cutting services. In January 2025 he announced plans for more treatment capacity, more primary care access and other changes aimed at reducing waiting times and pressure on hospitals. (gov.scot) He has also tied that message to election-year pledges, including 100,000 additional general practitioner appointments by March 2026 as part of his Programme for Government. (news.stv.tv) The debate did not settle the argument. It showed that, with polling day on May 7 approaching, Swinney is being asked to defend not only new promises on the National Health Service, but the Scottish National Party’s record after nearly two decades in office. (parliament.scot) (scotsman.com)