Flagship city hospital hits low for A&E targets again
Political Correspondent GLASGOW’S flagship hospital has yet again been listed as the bottom in the country for accident & emergency waiting times.
The Queen Elizabeth University Hospital managed to treat just 79% of all patients within four hours at A&E in the latest weekly performance figures.
The health board said it is putting in place measures to improve on the poor figures following a comprehensive review.
The hospital is the lowest in Scotland and has consistently failed to meet the target of 95% of all patients seen within four hours.
The Scottish figure is 92% and the nearest to the QEUH is Crosshouse in Kilmarnock where 86% were seen within the timescale.
Adam Tomkins Conservative MSP for Glasgow said he has raised the matter with the Health secretary Shona Robison.
He said: “The SNP is running out of excuses where the Queen Elizabeth is concerned.
“Glaswegians were led to expect that the opening of a new hospital, drawing services under one roof from across the city, would lead to a more streamlined, efficient service.
“But yet again it has emerged the flagship hospital has the worst performing A&E department in Scotland.”
Mr Tomkins said the situation was likely to get worse in the coming months unless action was taken.
He added: “With the winter period drawing closer by the week, I’ve written to the health secretary to seek assurances the Queen Elizabeth will be equipped to handle the demand on its services, especially the A&E department.
“Time is running out for the SNP to get a grip on this issue, and it has no one else to blame for the situation but itself.”
The health board said it is speeding up the plans to make improvements.
Deputy Medical Director, Dr David Stewart, who car- ried out a comprehensive review of unscheduled care, said: “We have identified areas for improvement and are accelerating the process to implement the changes that will deliver results for our patients and allow us to meet our performance targets.
“We currently admit more patients from Emergency Departments (ED) to hospital beds than comparable boards and we have fewer alternatives to hospital admission.”
He said it was a priority to support older people to live in their own homes and the health board has been developing a wider range of options as alternatives to hospital admission.
He added: “We are also supporting wards to make sure that when patients are medically fit to leave hospital they can do so without delay.”