ALMOST 200 people have died in Scotland while waiting to be treated for chronic pain conditions, new figures have revealed.

The data, highlighted by the pro-UK campaign group Scotland in Union, found that over the last five years some 197 people have passed away while awaiting an appointment with pain clinic specialists.

The information from Public Health Scotland has been described as "shameful" by the group, which has blamed the delays on the SNP-run Scottish Government.

A report on chronic pain treatment released this month found that by the end of September, 4,957 people were referred to a clinic for chronic pain, which was roughly 25 per cent more than the number of referrals in six months prior.

It stated: " Referral numbers are now close to levels seen in 2019 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic when there were on average 5,200 referrals each quarter."

The report also explained that 1900 people were seen at a clinic between July 1 and September 30 this year, which was a decrease of 9% on the previous quarter and lower than the average 3000 patients seen before the pandemic.

Chronic pain is defined in the report as a pain that continues for more than three months, even with medication or treatment.

People passing away before getting an appointment at a pain clinic is one of 14 reasons why appointments are not taken up, affecting 197 people between September 2017 and June 2021.

According to the report the main reason why people miss appointments for chronic pain is that they do not attend, with around 14% of people not attending their first appointment between June and September.

It adds that "of the 2,867 patients waiting at 30 September 2021, 2,277 (79.4%), had been waiting 12

weeks or less to be seen, 508 (17.7%) between 13 and 24 weeks, 50 patients (1.7%) between 25 and 51 weeks and 32 patients (1.1%) 52 weeks or more."

Pamela Nash, chief executive of Scotland in Union, said: “These are people who have tragically died in severe pain while desperately waiting for treatment.

“This simply should never happen.

“This is another shameful failure from the SNP when it comes to the running of Scotland’s health service.

“There are more than 2,000 people waiting for a chronic pain appointment in Scotland, with hundreds on the list for months on end.

“For years, chronic pain patients have complained about the standard of service that has been provided under this SNP government.

“The SNP has been obsessed with the constitution when it should have focused on providing our NHS with the resources it needs.

“As part of the UK we have more to invest in the health service and this must be prioritised in the New Year.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We know living with chronic pain can be extremely challenging, and are committed to ensuring people with chronic pain can access the support they need, when they need it.

“We are providing funding to enhance the capacity of pain management care through the Chronic Pain Winter Support Fund and will announce further details shortly. The projects we fund will boost the support available for people with chronic pain to help them maintain their health and wellbeing over the months ahead.”

He added: "The latest published data on waiting times for chronic pain services demonstrate the continued progress Health Boards and pain services have continued to make despite the ongoing challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, with continued reduction in both the numbers and proportion of patients who waited longest to be seen.”