THOUSANDS of patients who were promised treatment within 12 weeks deserve an explanation for delays, MSPs told Scottish Health Secretary Alex Neil yesterday.

Labour backbencher and public audit committee convener Hugh Henry laid into Mr Neil yesterday following an Audit Scotland investigation into NHS waiting lists.

The Scottish government had previously pledged that all patients are legally entitled to receive medical treatment within 12 weeks of being put on a waiting list.

But there were 1,217 cases in the six months to April 2013 of patients being made to wait longer than that.

Mr Neil has variously said that the NHS was “going to get 100 per cent” and that it “may not be possible to ensure that there are no breaches of the guarantee.”

Former deputy health minister Mr Henry, who recently slated the targets as “a farce,” said the committee expressed “genuine concern” following Audit Scotland’s findings.

Totally sticking to the 12-week target would be difficult and the health service had improved, he said, but patients were still not receiving services to which they were legally entitled.

“We have therefore called for the Scottish government to explain how it will monitor and support the NHS to reduce these breaches,” he said.

Mr Neil yesterday welcomed “useful and constructive” report but insisted that the service was treating “close to 100 per cent” of people within 12 weeks.

“In the context of the thousands of people who use the NHS every day, this is an achievement to be welcomed,” he said.

The watchdog’s scrutiny follows complaints of “overwhelming” strains on A&E departments earlier this month, with the College of Emergency Medicine saying that “inadequate” hiring and retention rates made it hard to cope with the rising number of patients.

In May another Audit Scotland report found that one in 16 A&E visitors had to wait in triage for more than four hours last year.

The Royal College of Nursing Scotland blamed the delays on “relentless” pressure and a 7 per cent cut in available beds since 2008.