City’s A&E waiting times are the worst in Scotland
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde had the worst A&E waiting times in Scotland.
According to the latest figures, the health board treated 87.7% of patients within the target time of four hours – nearly 7% below the 95% government target.
And the city’s newest hospital, the £842 million Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, again had the lowest compliance of any individual site.
Eight health boards missed the target in the latest week ending March 12, with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde followed by NHS Lanarkshire at 89.7%.
A spokeswoman for NHS GGC said: “The majority of patients were seen, assessed, treated and either admitted or discharge within the four-hour target. Most of those patients who did not meet the four hour target were either admitted or discharged shortly thereafter.
“We apologise to those patients who waited longer than this. However, medical attention will always be clinically prioritised for those who most urgently require it.”
She said all A&E departments had seen an increased number of patients coming to A&E. She added: “We still have work to do, however our staff have been working incredibly hard putting in new measures to ensure we continue to head in the right direction.
“To help us manage the seasonal increase in demand, we ran a media campaign urging those with minor injuries to attend our dedicated Minor Injury Units (MIUs) where their injuries can be more appropriately, and quickly, treated and we are exceeding the 98% target.
“We are also trialling a new system where consultant staff review patients as soon as they arrive and direct them to other forms of care if they do not need to be seen in the emergency department.
“Improving emergency department performance remains a key focus.”
Overall, performance in Scotland’s A&E departments has improved slightly but is still below target.
The latest figures show that 26,087 people attended A&E in the week ending March 12, of which 92.2% were seen and either admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours.