SCOTTISH Labour Deputy Leader, Alex Rowley, joined campaigners to highlight concerns over the management and funding of NHS services and warned that the Government in Edinburgh must ‘get a grip’ on the challenges facing the NHS.

This in the same week as Audit Scotland issued one of its most critical reports ever published on the NHS in Scotland warning that ‘funding is not keeping pace with increasing demand and patient need’.

The hard hitting report also said that the NHS was experiencing a ‘workforce crisis’ resulting in NHS Boards having huge increases on spending for agency staff including nurses, doctors and consultants.

Speaking to the Times Mr Rowley said: “This report confirms what we have been experiencing here in Fife for some time.

"Staff are run off their feet trying to meet demand for services whilst the Board have been unable to recruit enough consultants, GPs and nurses piling more and more pressure on a system that is stretched to the limit."

The Mid Scotland and Fife MSP has been a constant campaigner for the NHS and continued: “I always try to focus on what can be done to make things better but I have to say until Nicola Sturgeon and her Government recognise their failure over ten years to implement workforce planning and its impact which is massive shortages in doctors, nurses, consultants and GPs then they won’t properly address it.

"Likewise, they have failed in getting resources into community care whilst continuing with more and more targets on acute care and now expect Boards to make massive cuts in hospital budgets”.

Mr Rowley is due to meet the Cabinet Secretary for Health in the coming month to discuss the different pressures on the NHS Fife budget and says he will be putting forward a number of proposals for assisting with the growing pressures.

Last week Scottish Health Minister Shona Robison said that considerable investment was being made to tackle 'lost beds' in hospitals.

She said that £30m was being invested over three years to accelerate improvements.

She added: "We are continuing our work with health and social care partnerships to ensure there are firm plans in place for winter so that there is sufficient capacity to meet local needs."