A&E WAITING WORST EVER
Winter catastrophe predicted
SCOTLANDhasrecorded its worst A&E waiting time performance since records began.
And now politicians are warning the country is facing another devastating winter death toll as they urge the Scottish Government to take action.
Just 71.3 per cent of patients at Scotland’s emergency departments were seen within the target waiting time of four hours – worse than any other figure since records started in March 2015.
The Government standard is a minimum of 95 per cent of all patients should be seen within this time frame.
But in the week ending October 3 more than 7,000 people waited longer – including 1,782 who were still waiting after eight hours and 591 who were still waiting more than 12 hours after arrival.
The queues at A&E have already impacted on ambulance services with paramedics backed up at hospitals – forcing the Scottish Government to call in army drivers as reinforcements.
Yesterday as the new Winter Mortality Statistics revealed last year’s devastating death toll of 4,330 excess deaths, Labour’s health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said it was a “heartbreaking” reminder of how high the stakes are.
She said: “Last year’s tragic winter death toll is a heartbreaking reminder of how high the stakes are as we head into winter.
“We must do everything possible to make sure we don’t see this scale of devastation again – but as it stands we are woefully unprepared.
“It is becoming clear that we are on track for another winter catastrophe this year if we fail to act.
“The SNP need to listen to the warnings from staff on the frontline and get a grip on the growing emergency in our NHS before the cold weather really bites.
“There is no time to waste when this many lives are on the line.”
And while the overall A&E figure was bad, at individual hospitals the picture was far worse with 10 hospitals scoring less than 70 per cent.
The worst was Forth Valley Royal Hospital with 50.3 per cent seen in time, followed by Wishaw General on 52.9 per cent, Edinburgh Royal Infirmary on 53.9 and Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital on 54.6 per cent.
Even the normally strong children’s hospitals all failed to meet the 95 per cent figure. Only four passed – Belford in Fort William, Balfour on Orkney, Gilbert Bain on Shetland and Western Isles Hospital.
Scottish Conservative Shadow Health Secretary Dr Sandesh Gulhane MSP, said it was “nothing short of an unmitigated disaster for Humza Yousaf ”.
A Scottish Government spokesperson stated: “We will continue to work closely with those sites facing the greatest challenges to ensure rapid recovery plans are in place and are in contact daily.”
No time to waste when this many lives are on the line. JACKIE BAILLIE ON WAITING TIME CRISIS