776 patients had to wait 12 hours at A& E
Health secretary blasted over broken figures
A Labour MSP has accused the Health Secretary of being complacent over A& E waiting times in Ayrshire and Arran.
Colin Smyth’s claim refers to figures published by the Scottish Government’s Information Services Division which show that 776 patients this year had to wait longer than 12 hours to be seen and subsequently admitted, transferred or discharged at NHS Ayrshire and Arran A& E departments.
The national standard for A& E waiting times is that a patient attending A& E should be seen, transferred or discharged within four hours.
South Scotland MSP says this target has been broken 7,168 times in Ayrshire and Arran.
And he says he received a response from the SNP Health Secretary, Jeane Freeman, which he described as evidence that the Scottish Government are complacent over A& E waiting times.
Colin Smyth said: “Across Ayrshire and Arran patients are being left over 12 hours in Accident and Emergency waiting rooms and hospital beds despite supposedly legally binding targets being set to ensure any patient attending A& E must be seen and subsequently admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours. With 776 patients waiting over 12 hours in NHS Ayrshire and Arran A& E departments alone this situation is nothing short of a scandal. It is even more disappointing that the Health Secretary and this SNP Scottish Government are so complacent. In response to concerns I raised with Jeane Freeman over long waiting times she simply dismissed the problem by saying that A& E waiting times in Scotland are the best in the UK. Local people aren’t interested in what happens In England. They care about services in Ayrshire and so should Jeane Freeman.
“The Scottish Government need to wake up to the crisis in A& E departments and take immediate action. Their complacency must end by investing in our NHS to cope with increasing demand and support our frontline NHS staff who go above and beyond for patient care.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Scotland’s core A& E departments continue to be the best performing in the UK, and have been for more than four years. The latest weekly figures show that almost nine out of 10 patients were seen and either admitted, discharged or transferred within the four- hour A& E target, and this is thanks to the ongoing hard work and dedication of our NHS staff.
“We continue to work closely with health boards, including NHS Ayrshire and Arran, to minimise unnecessary delays in A& E and to ensure delivery of the emergency care target. Where peformance needs to improve, we are committed to ensuring that health boards are supported in doing so. “We will continue to drive improvements through our £ 850 million Waiting Times Improvement plan.”
With 776 patients waiting over 12 hours this sitution is nothing short of a scandal