A seven-year-old Ukrainian girl travelled with her mum back to Ukraine for dental treatment because the NHS waiting list was so long.

Lisa and her mum Oksana Martirosova had been living as refugees in Aberdeenshire. Getting to a dentist in Ukraine involved a flight to Poland and then a fifteen hour bus journey across the war-torn country.

“Lisa’s pain was terrible, she couldn’t wait several months on antibiotics. She was really afraid and trembling, and every day I had to give her painkillers,” said Ms Martirosova speaking to the Press & Journal.

She added: “In our country, this would be an emergency and you would go to the hospital the same day or the next day, not after several months. It is crazy because this can lead to very difficult problems. I don’t know how people with small children live with this problem.”

Speaking to the Daily Mirror Labour MSP Michael Marra, who helped Ms Martirosova’s family obtain visas last year, blamed the situation on the SNP government’s Secretary for Health and Social Care, Humza Yousaf.

“Humza Yousaf’s disastrous stewardship of the NHS has created a desperate situation for far too many. It is simply astounding that refugees have had to return to a war-torn country for medical treatment.”

Want to see more SNP fails? – Education Matters