THE NHS is in decline in Scotland, the country’s public spending watchdog warns in a new report, as Labour says that the threatened closure of Monklands Hospital in Lanarkshire would be a “great injustice.”

An Audit Scotland report published today finds that health boards are “struggling to break even” and that no part of the country has met all of the eight key national targets for the service. One board, NHS Lothian, failed to achieve any.

Following increased pressure on NHS services and lengthening waiting lists, Auditor General Caroline Gardner said that “decisive action” was now needed and that progress had been “too slow.”

Labour MSP Monica Lennon blamed the nationalist-run Scottish government, saying: “After more than a decade of SNP complacency, our NHS is in crisis.”

British Medical Association chair in Scotland Lewis Morrison said the “stark warning” from Audit Scotland “could not be any blunter.”

Dr Morrison demanded “concerted action … to address recruitment and retention issues for doctors, and indeed all staff, to ensure that working in Scotland’s NHS is an attractive career choice.”

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: “While our NHS faces challenges, common with health systems across the world, we are implementing a new waiting-times improvement plan to direct £850 million of investment over the next three years to deliver substantial and sustainable improvements to performance, and significantly improve the experience of patients waiting to be seen or treated.”

At Holyrood yesterday, Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard warned that the closure of Monklands Hospital would be a “grave error.”

He argued that a consultation on plans to replace the hospital with a new one at Gartcosh had been a “flawed process with flawed logic.”

And Central Scotland MSP Elaine Smith said: “During the heavy snow of last year, many staff walked into work — something not possible if the hospital was moved out of its central location.

“It’s time for this Parliament to step in and show support for the people of Monklands.”

The Scottish government said: “Any decision on the new hospital should take full account of the views of the patients.”

Over 5,000 people have signed a Labour petition calling for the hospital to remain in its current location.