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always come first – the clinical needs of our patients is paramount.
“Overall, clinicians in acute medical units across Scotland are working incredibly hard, with fantastic teamwork, to deliver high-quality care to our patients, despite exceptional pressures.”
Opposition politicians slated the Scottish Government for their lack of forward-planning to head off the winter crisis.
The figures for the week ending December 31 came as Scottish
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Labour highlighted other statistics published by ISD Scotland that showed 107,689 people were kept waiting longer than the target time at A&E units last year. Scottish Labour’s health spokesman Anas Sarwar said: “NHS staff are not getting the support they need from the SNP Government. “The A&E figures for the festive period are some of the worst in memory.” Scots Tory health spokesman Miles Briggs added: “Winter is the
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toughest time for the NHS in terms of getting people seen to on time. But these figures are nothing short of a disgrace.”
Earlier this week, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Health Secretary Shona Robison apologised to patients for the problems facing the NHS this winter.
Sarwar added: “No wonder Nicola Sturgeon felt the need to apologise but it will be a hollow apology without meaningful action.
“The health service needs a plan for long-term real change.”
Yesterday, Robison thanked NHS staff for their hard work. She said the increase in flu cases and patients with complex care needs had contributed significantly to the pressure on the NHS.
Robison added: “It is crucial that patients with complex care needs and flu receive the right care, not simply the fastest.
“It will take some time for services to recover from the pressures being felt this winter and for the spikes in flu levels to subside.
“However, we are working to provide support to boards wherever they might need it, alongside the £22.4million investment the Scottish Government have already made available for winter contingencies, to ensure demand is appropriately managed.”
Flu rates in Scotland doubled in December, with the latest figures showing around 46 people in every 100,000 had the virus during the last week of the year, compared with 22 in every 100,000 in the same week in 2016.
The Scottish Ambulance Service reported an almost 40 per cent rise in the number of calls on Hogmanay alone, while NHS 24 received more than 45,000 calls in four days over Christmas – almost double the number in the same period last year.