A&E waiting times spark crisis fears

WINTER is taking its toll on Scotland’s A&E departments which have recorded the worst waiting times since the start of the year.

Figures for the week ending December 3 show 89.7 per cent of patients were dealt with within four hours, below the Scottish Government’s 95 per cent target.

The figure is the worst since the 87.9 per cent recorded in January.

A total of 292 patients spent more than eight hours in an emergency department while 59 waited for more than 12 hours. The worst hit hospital was the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary where a quarter of patients waited too long.

Critics said the figures showed Scotland’s NHS was facing a ‘winter meltdown’ as a result of SNP mismanagement.

Scottish Labour health spokesman Anas Sarwar said: ‘This is a day of shame for the SNP. Our doctors and nurses do fantastic work, but they have been left overworked, under-valued and under-resourced.’

Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesman Alex Cole-Hamilton said: ‘Scottish Government ministers need to ensure that underpressure A&E staff have the support and resources they need to be able to meet demand.’

Health Secretary Shona Robison said: ‘It is not unusual for A&E waiting times to fluctuate from week to week and from site to site across winter, due to norovirus, flu and respiratory-like illnesses or an increase in slips and trips.’

Jim Crombie of NHS Lothian said: ‘There are a number of contributing factors, including the increasing complexity of cases at emergency departments and significant numbers of delayed discharges.’