Gray missing in action as Scotland records its worst cancer waiting times on record
Neil Gray was declared 'missing in action' yesterday after it emerged he is on a 'junket' in Japan as Scotland records its worst cancer waiting times on record.
The beleaguered SNP health secretary has been accused of letting the NHS 'spiral out of control' as delayed discharges also hit a new high.
The 'appalling' figures emerged as doctors warned the health service was 'dying' as Scots increasingly raided savings to go private to avoid huge waiting lists.
The Scottish Conservative Party 's health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said: 'These appalling statistics confirm Scotland is facing a ticking timebomb when it comes to cancer cases on the SNP's watch.
'Yet while cancer waiting times hit record lows and delayed discharge rates spiral out of control, Neil Gray is on a junket abroad.
'In the words of BMA Scotland, our NHS is 'dying before our eyes', but the SNP health secretary is missing in action.
'Neil Gray should be focused on fixing our health service, not globetrotting.
'While this delegation may be helpful for the industry, Neil Gray's presence looks like a jolly.
'He needs to show common sense and adopt our plans to cut bureaucracy and surge resources to the frontline.'
The row exploded as a raft of official figures underlined the crisis in Scotland's NHS:
* Nearly a third of Scots referred with an urgent suspicion of cancer still hadn't started their treatment by the 62-day target in the first quarter of 2025.
* The number of delayed discharge patients stuck in hospital hit a record 720,000 last year, with one NHS bed in nine occupied by someone who didn't need it.
* Waiting times in A&E worsened last week, with just two-thirds of patients seen on time, and 11 per cent waiting more than eight hours.
* Dr Iain Kennedy, chair of BMA Scotland, accused the SNP of 'repeatedly ignoring' warnings about NHS lists, forcing patients to 'use their own hard-earned money' instead of 'languishing' in a health service 'dying before our very eyes'.
There was particular anger at Holyrood over the cancer waits - and Mr Gray's absence on a Scottish healthcare 'trade mission' half-way around the world.
A key NHS Scotland's standard means 95 per cent of patients should wait no longer than 62 days from an urgent suspicion of cancer referral until their first cancer treatment.
But only 68.9 per cent of patients referred from January to March started treatment on time, down from 73.5 per cent the previous quarter and 70.5 per cent for the same period in 2024.
Only one of Scotland's 14 regional health boards, NHS Lanarkshire, hit the target.
It was the worst performance since comparable records began in 2012.
A target for 95 per cent of patients to start treatment within 31 days of a new cancer diagnosis was also missed, with 94.1 per cent treated on time.
Dr Sorcha Hume, of Cancer Research UK, said: 'It's unacceptable that people are waiting too long for cancer treatment - and the situation is getting worse, not improving.
'Given the rise in the number of people being diagnosed with cancer, the Scottish Government must take urgent action. We need to see a significant increase in investment in the workforce. Reforms to NHS infrastructure and services are also required.'
Mr Gray was last year criticised for going on 'jollies' to Aberdeen FC games in his official limo and had to apologise to parliament for looking 'more of a fan' than a minister.
This week the Airdrie & Shotts MSP is on a trip selling Scotland's 'strong international reputation for pioneering health technologies' in Japan.
But it emerged yesterday that the SNP's ill-fated NHS app, which is already a decade behind England's, has been scaled back to a single function in a single health board.
Hailed as a 'digital front door' to the health service by John Swinney, it will initially deal only with dermatology appointments in NHS Lanarkshire when launched.
The cancer and delayed discharge figures are published at the same time each year.
The Scottish Government confirmed Mr Gray would have known the timetable, but denied he knew the content, when he agreed to be overseas when they came out.
The Health Secretary arrived in Japan on Sunday evening and met the trade mission's delegation at the British Embassy in Tokyo on Monday morning.
He is also due at Expo 2025 in Osaka this week.
He is not expected back in the UK until Friday, the day after MSPs leave Holyrood for the summer recess, letting him duck questions in the chamber about his record.
Mr Gray also went on a five-day round trip to Japan in 2023 when he was Economy Secretary, when his flights and hotels cost taxpayers £7,000.
Scottish Labour deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie said: 'It is right that we engage with other nations when it comes to promoting Scotland and strengthening ties.
'However, many will question the timing of this visit by the Health Secretary when our NHS is in such a poor state after years of chronic mismanagement by SNP ministers.
'After making use of a ministerial limo to football matches, it would be wise of Neil Gray to make this trip a more productive one than his previous jaunts.
'And perhaps while he is abroad boasting about Scotland's reputation for pioneering technology, he could tell us when the long-delayed Scottish NHS app will finally launch.'
Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton added: 'A cancer time-bomb is looming. The SNP must act now to cut these dangerously long waits and deliver urgent, life-saving care.
'Nothing Neil Gray has done since being appointed health secretary has turned the tide for stressed out staff and patients.
'It's all well and good for Scotland to be advertising its excellent health technology abroad but patients facing the worst ever waits for cancer treatment and delayed discharge might well wish the Health Secretary were at home working out how to drive down waiting lists.'
Mr Gray said: 'We are treating more patients with cancer on time, within both standards, compared to the same quarter six years ago - 7.7 per cent more within the 31-day standard and 0.1 per cent more within the 62-day standard.
'Cancer remains a national priority for the Scottish Government. We have directed £14.23 million of the £106 million in additional planned care funding for 2025/26 to cancer waiting times, with a focus on colorectal, urological and breast as our most challenged pathways.'
A Scottish Government spokeswoman added: 'While in Japan Mr Gray is taking forward a full schedule of engagements promoting Scotland's health technology sector. This includes a meeting with the Japanese Ministry of Health to discuss the shared challenges of caring for a growing ageing population and explore potential areas for collaboration.
'International engagement like this is vital to supporting innovation, attracting investment, and delivering long-term benefits for patients and our health service.'
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