Patients waiting for sleep apnoea treatment will be parked on a waiting list as NHS Tayside looks to make savings, The Courier can reveal.
Referrals to the health board’s sleep service have been limited as they attempt to tackle a budget shortfall.
Insiders say it amounts to an effective suspension of the service as patients referred for diagnosis will be placed on a waiting list until the service re-opens in full.
But NHS Tayside insist the service continues to operate and already supports around 4,000 patients.
Sleep apnoea is a disorder that causes someone to repeatedly stop breathing while they sleep.
The NHS says the condition has to be treated as it can lead to more serious problems such as an increased risk of stroke, heart disease, depression and diabetes.
Those living with the condition are usually unable to drive, due to an increased risk of car accidents, and may even struggle to work.
Scottish Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said the pause was a reminder of how the NHS is “crumbling” under the SNP.
She said: “The reality is that patients who can afford it will pay for a private diagnosis while the poorest will continue to suffer, undiagnosed and untreated.”
Ms Baillie said the recent UK Government budget would deliver £789 million for the NHS this year and an additional £1.72 billion next year.
“But it’s up to the SNP to ensure it is spent wisely,” she added:
North East Scotland MSP Michael Marra said NHS Tayside was “abandoning” those in need of treatment.
He said: “These cuts are the result of years of budget chaos in NHS Tayside. The new Chief Executive must set the health board’s finances on a sustainable path, so that people’s lives are not disrupted by sudden cuts to services.”
‘Repeated pattern of behaviour’
The move follows a similar pause in vasectomies by NHS Tayside, with waiting lists for the elective procedure building to over 1,000.
New funding means the surgery has now restarted as part of a partnership with NHS Forth Valley, though over 400 are still on the waiting list.
Mr Marra added: “This is a repeated pattern of behaviour from NHS Tayside whereby they cancel services but do not inform patients, leaving them languishing on ever-longer waiting lists in the hope of a service that no longer exists.”
An NHS Tayside spokeswoman insisted the service had limited the number of referrals it would accept rather than suspending the service entirely.
She said: “In September an interim decision was taken to limit the number of referrals to the service due to challenging financial constraints.
“We are continuing to provide CPAP machines to over 4,000 patients within the service. CPAP machines are prescribed to treat sleep-related breathing disorders.
“We know this temporary reduction will impact patients and we would like to apologise for this. This decision will be reviewed when we are planning services for 2024/25.
“Our clinical teams are continuing to monitor the situation and are working to develop an improved patient pathway.”
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