First Minister has ‘lost control’ of waiting times
Lanarkshire’s health board has been accused of being in “crisis” due to lengthy waiting times.
Robert Brown, a South Lanarkshire Council candidate for Rutherglen South who served as the Liberal Democrats group leader at the local authority, has called for an inquiry into “avoidable deaths”, both in Lanarkshire and across Scotland.
Mr Brown said that he has regularly heard from people facing lengthy waits to be seen at hospitals in the area.
Statistics from Public Health Scotland recently revealed that just 56.3 per cent of attendees in Lanarkshire were seen within the Scottish Government’s four-hour waiting times target.
The figures also showed that 549 patients waited more than eight hours to be seen, and 150 waited for more than 12 in the week ending March 20.
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine warned that 240 people have died this year as a result of delays at A&E departments.
Mr Brown has now claimed that a full inquiry must be held.
He said: “Local people are extremely worried and upset by these experiences.
“Ten hours waiting in an emergency department for urgent medical care is no fun for anyone – certainly not for patients but not for hard pressed medical staff either.
“Clearly Covid has made things worse but this crisis was brewing long before.
“The A&E target was missed for years before the pandemic because of poor workforce planning and mismanagement by the SNP government.
“NHS patients and staff are in dire need of new hope. They also deserve an inquiry into the avoidable deaths connected to the emergency care crisis.
“The First Minister and the Health Secretary appear to have lost control of the situation and it needs radical and urgent action.”
Mr Brown added that steps should be taken to build up the workforce and find new ways to ease the pressure on emergency services.
The Scottish Government’s health secretary Humza Yousaf recently defended the SNP’s record.
He stated: “We are currently seeing record high levels of Covid transmission and more people in our hospitals with Covid than at any time during the pandemic – this rise in recent weeks has inevitably had an impact on services like A&E.
“The Chief Nursing Officer is now reviewing national infection control guidance with a view to easing current restrictions which have added to hospital pressures through reduced bed numbers.
“Staff absences and a growing number of acutely unwell patients, resulting in longer stays, is also having an impact.
“People should consider whether their condition is an emergency, such as a stroke, heart attack or major trauma, before going to A&E.”