Hundreds left to languish for over 12 hours in A&E
WAITING time performance in Scotland’s A&E units has fallen to a new low, with thousands of Scots facing long delays to be seen.
In the first week of January, as the winter crisis took hold, a total of 1,449 people waited more than eight hours and 470 waited more than 12 hours.
The figures are the highest since weekly waiting times were first published by the NHS almost three years ago.
Hospitals have had to accommodate soaring numbers of flu patients in single rooms to limit its spread, delaying admissions to wards for A&E patients.
A&E staff managed to treat just 77.9 per cent of patients within the four-hour target, a record low and down on the previous week when 78 per cent were seen and either admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours.
A&E departments dealt with 25,280 patients in the first week of the year, according to the figures from the NHS Information Services Division.
Health Secretary Shona Robison said hospitals continued to ‘feel the effect of the steep rise in flu cases’ after figures showed the flu rate for the first week of 2018 was four times higher than the same week last year.
Infection control measures meant some patients had to wait ‘a little longer’ in A&E to be admitted, she added.
But Tory health spokesman Miles Briggs said the Scottish Government had ignored warnings about the challenges winter would bring.
At present Scotland has the highest flu rate in the UK and the rate of GP consultations for patients with symptoms was 107.2 per 100,000 population in the first week of this month.
Mr Briggs said: ‘It used to be that patients going to A&E would worry about not being seen within four hours. Now, under this SNP government, there is a reasonable chance they will have to wait double that, with hundreds spending 12 hours or more in casualty.’
He added: ‘Hardworking NHS staff right across the country are doing their best to make life easier for patients. But they’re simply not getting the support they deserve from the SNP government at this challenging time of year.’
Lib Dem health spokesman Alex Cole-Hamilton said: ‘It is hard to imagine waiting over 12 hours in A&E but that is exactly what almost 500 patients had to do in the first week of 2018. The problem is additional pressures are being heaped on NHS staff who are already battling to keep on top of their workloads week in, week out.
‘That is the result of failures elsewhere in the NHS on the SNP’s watch, not least social care, mental health and primary care.
Miss Robison said: ‘Despite the flu rate doubling in a week, A&E performance remained broadly the same, with nearly four out of five people attending A&E admitted, discharged or transferred within four hours.
‘I thank all health and social care staff who are delivering fantastic patient care in this tough period.’
Meanwhile, the MacKinnon Memorial Hospital on Skye has closed to new admissions after a flu outbreak. Four patients tested positive for the virus.
The A&E and outpatient departments remain open.
‘Battling to keep on top of workloads’