Six hour wait times at our A&E

Patients attending A&E at Hairmyres are being made to wait outside as staff struggle to cope with patient numbers.

And the News has heard of one woman being forced to stand as she waited to be seen for a broken ankle.

We were made aware of the situation at the hospital last week, with social distancing measures meaning fewer seats in the hospital’s atrium.

However, seats have not been made available for those waiting outside, with our source telling us the wait time was SIX HOURS.

Dr John Keaney, NHS Lanarkshire acute medical director and consultant in emergency medicine, said hospitals had to“comply with the national physical distancing guidance for the safety of patients, staff and the public”and urged patients to consider if they needed to attend A&E.

He added:“People can help us with this by attending the emergency department on their own in almost all cases.

“The only exceptions are children and vulnerable adults, who should be accompanied by one adult. If someone has driven a relative to hospital, we would ask that they remain in their car or collect them after they have been discharged.

“With your help, we can help reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection in our hospitals.”

Labour MSP, Monica Lennon, accused health secretary Jeane Freeman of being“too slow”to help health boards adapt to social distancing.

She added:“We can’t expect patients to stand or wait outside in changeable Scottish weather.

“We may need to live with coronavirus for a long time and our NHS needs to be supported to adapt to new ways of working. This may include expanding the space available to see and treat patients.”

Linda Fabiani MSP said she had not received any complaints regarding this issue, but urged anyone with concerns to contact her.

Meanwhile, Conservative MSP Graham Simpson MSP called in “unacceptable”that anyone with a genuine problem should have to wait for six hours to be seen.

He added:“Waiting times at A&Es across the country is not a new issue.

“The SNP can’t continue to hide behind COVID as an excuse for failing public services.

“It is important though that people only turn up at A&Es if they absolutely have to. The NHS is not closed, so GPs are still dealing with cases and they are the first port of call.”