Quarter of A&E patients now face four-hour wait at flagship hospital

A QUARTER of patients were forced to wait more than four hours to be seen in the A&E department at Scotland’s flagship hospital.

NHS figures show that over the last week in April, the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow dealt with only 75 per cent of A&E patients within the four-hour target.

The Scottish Government has drafted in experts from the NHS in England to deal with waiting times at the hospital.

Despite this, critics said its latest performance figures were the worst since the £84 million facility opened in 015.

The statistics show that in the week ending April 30, 91.3 per cent of A&E patients across Scotland were seen and either admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours – still below the Scottish Government’s target of 95 per cent.

Scotland-wide, there were 3 patients who spent more than eight hours in an emergency department, with 45 waiting more than 1 hours.

Lib Dem health spokesman Alex Cole-Hamilton said: ‘It is clear that emergency departments across Scotland are really struggling to meet demand.

‘At the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital alone, almost 500 patients waited longer than four hours. It has struggled to meet this target from day one and staff and patients will be frustrated that there is little sign of this changing.

‘The facilities and dedication of the staff at the QEUH are first class but services are under real strain.’

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde yesterday apologised to patients affected.

A spokesman said: ‘We are committed to ensuring that patients are seen, treated and either admitted or discharged as quickly as possible.

‘Performance figures for emergency departments will always fluctuate day to day and even week to week.

‘However, the majority were seen and either admitted or discharged within the four-hour target. Most who did not meet the target were admitted or discharged shortly after.’

Health Secretary Shona Robison said: ‘Performance at the QEUH has experienced on-going challenges.

‘Key factors over the last few weeks include the level of attendances, which have increased.’