Scotland’s NHS is devolved and is the responsibility of Scotland so you’ve inadvertantly highlighted that it’s a cross-border problem and thus as I suggested, an impossible situation for any government
Hi
Practicalities are important here.
Covid had a huge impact on the NHS.
I am no expert in this but can relate to my numerous visits since the end of July 2020.
First, distancing reduced the numbers of beds on the wards and chairs in outpatients and A&E.
Beds and equipment had to be sterilized between each patient.
Wards had to be altered, perspex screens between every bay and the corridors.
Six bed bays became 4 bed bays.
Nurses had to change gloves and plastic pinnies between each patient.
House keeping staff had to do the same, serving meals and collecting trays and water jars took much longer.
Until a person who came into hospital tested negative they had to be presumed to be positive.
Hospital transport was affected, no more picking up four at a time for dialysis, a separate pick up for all.
Some wards had to be closed and converted to Covid Wards.
Staff where moved around to help out on the Covid Wards , where patients where being intubated etc.
No surprise then that waiting lists rose.
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The London Nightingale hospital was opened by Prince Charles however, it only ever treated 54 patients and was derided by some in the NHS as a costly gimmick, but hey to us gullible plebs the government was doing something. 
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Well to be honest, that came as a pleasant surprise because I had thought that none of them had actually admitted any patients!
I suppose it might have been a good idea to set up regional hospitals where Covid patients could be treated in isolation from everyone else, but surely the government must have considered costs and availability of staff. Actually, costs wouldn’t have even been given a thought: just throw lots of money at them and hope for the best!
It does not seem to have worked out that way. Plus there seems to be a shortage of medics. The doctors aren’t machines and make their own decision on where they want to work. There just aren’t enough doctors and nurses in the UK.
But they’re coming over here on little boats every day! 
I am getting a little tired of politicians in the UK and in particular Scotland where I live really underplaying how serious the backlog of patients waiting for elective surgery or treatment for other serious medical conditions because we still have a COVID health service rather than a NHS.
From a personal point of view I have had two surgeries postponed indefinitely and come Tuesday it will probably be confirmed I have a very serious condition with no clear idea on if treatment will be delayed.
We were told that the vaccine would be the solution but this is proving not to be the case with hospital admissions and deaths rising almost daily. People may not be as ill because of the vaccine but every COVID hospital admission is one less patient needing inpatient treatment for other conditions.
This pandemic has not been handled well from day one and now politicians seem to even more out of depth, our own Great Leader seems to feel that comparing with the rest of the UK particularly England as justification for her ineptitude, in fact I am surprised she has not resorted to the SNP’S governments mantra of blaming Westminster for all Scotland’s ills.
The really scary thing is that the DR’s feel that they will never ever catch up with the backlog which means longer and longer waits for treatment etc and obviously higher excess death rates.
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I completely agree. I am concerned about my health recently and have made attempts to get something done by my GP. He agreed that further investigations should be done by either a cardiologist or a neurologist (or both) to determine the cause of my problems, but assured me that it would take a MINIMUM of 6 months before I could get to see them.
Consequently, and being more worried about it than I was, Marge insisted that we arrange to see a specialist privately. TWO DAYS, not SIX MONTHS!
I can see that this country, and its much vaunted NHS, is going to become like another little America. Those who can afford it will receive superior medical attention to those who can’t.
Who do we blame? I’d say primarily our politicians who seem more intent on feeding the world (or inviting them all into the UK) than looking after our own people, but also the NHS itself which has become top heavy with overpaid administrators and managers who are not even involved in the clinical work. The NHS has become a self-sustaining bureaucracy more than a health service.
I’m sorry to hear about your serious condition … 
You’re so right in your assessment of the current health service predicament, though … 
Thanks to BJ’s inept responses to the pandemic, those of us requiring any sort of medical treatment for ongoing issues have either been forgotten about or placed at the back of a queue … 
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How are other countries doing in getting their healthcare back on track?
Probably as badly, but their PM isn’t BJ:
Some signs of recovery emerging but major efforts required to restore and strengthen health services
23 April 2021 News release Geneva Reading time: 5 min (1233 words)
“Is going to become”?
You’ve just proven that it already is.
It’s how you got seen in two days instead of six months.
Hi
The NHS is not coping well, an example.
My head injury and possibly Covid is affecting me.
I have Brain Fog, not very good at all.
My episodes of very low blood pressure also result in my brain not working well from time to time.
I now have my medication delivered in daily timed blister packs, 4 weeks at a time.
Unfortunately the first delivery did not include two vital medications.
Clopidogrel and GTN Spray, both of which are extremely important to me.
Clopidogrel is to prevent blood clots and GTN Spray is what I take two sprays of twice before I am instructed to call 999.
I take it everywhere with me, it is literally a life saver.
It turns out the GP had not included either in the prescription to the Pharmacy, the two where on the last page from the Hospital.
Luckily I am still lucid enough, at times, to sort this out.
Many are not and this is a lethal omission.
I do not blame the locum GP, the practice is under immense pressure which leads to mistakes.
It is just an example of what is happening now.
To be perfectly honest, I don’t fully understand why general practices are under immense pressure.
Ours, as far as I know, still has the same number of GPs, at least going by their web site, and they apparently spend most of their time on telephone consultations which can’t take any longer than face-to-face consultations.
Can anyone explain what they are now obliged to do which makes things more difficult and time-consuming for them?
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Twice I have been given the wrong diagnosis via a telephone consultation in one case it resulted in me having make my way to the out of hours GP clinic at midnight and finally getting treatment for the correct condition, yet to get an apology from the GP?