Public wait to see how this will affect accident and emergency ambulance services in West Dunbartonshire
MSP Jackie Baillie, already concerned over waiting times at the RAH, wants talks with Humza Yousaf about how Erskine Bridge closures will add to the problems.
By Bill Heaney
Local motorists are being warned that an off-slip from Erskine Bridge to A82 northbound towards Dumbarton and Loch Lomond will be closed completely for a whole weekend.
The off-slip from A898 Erskine Bridge to A82 northbound par of the road will be closed between 10pm on Friday, March 4 and Monday, March 7. It is expected to re-open at 6am on that Monday.
Trunk road maintenance firm Amey said that the work involves repairs to the bridge deck, re-waterproofing and resurfacing.
These works will benefit road users by improving the condition of the carriageway and reducing the need for more extensive maintenance of the structure in the future.
Traffic will be diverted via the A898 off-slip to the A82 southbound. At Mountblow Road, traffic will take the off-slip road to cross Mount Blow overbridge, where traffic will join the A82 in a northerly direction and diversion will end. Please note, this diversion is not suitable for HGVs.
HGVs will also be diverted via the A898 off-slip road onto the A82 southbound and will continue on this route for four miles. At Kilbowie Roundabout, traffic will take the fifth exit to re-join the A82 northbound where diversion will end.
Amey says the work is weather dependent, and “may be cancelled or rescheduled if weather conditions are not favourable”.
Meanwhile, Jackie Baillie says the Health Secretary Humza Yousaf must act to end the chaos at A&E departments.
Statistics published this morning have revealed that during the week ending 13th of February 2022 only 73.2 percent of attendances at A&E services were seen and resulted in a subsequent admission, transfer or discharge within four hours. At the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley, this was below average at 72.6 percent.
Some 498 patients (seven of whom were at the RAH) spent more than 12 hours in an A&E department.
During the course of the last two weeks, 33 people attending at the A&E department at the RAH had to wait for longer than 12 hours.
From the summer of 2021 performance against the four-hour standard has dropped below 80 percent and has remained at this rate for a prolonged period of time.
Jackie Baillie said: “For months Humza Yousaf has allowed our A&E departments across Scotland to stagger from crisis to crisis as thousands of Scots have waited hours and hours for vital treatment.
“For 33 people having to wait for more than 12 hours to be seen at the emergency department at the RAH is a step too far.
“This is the local hospital for my constituents who already have lengthy journeys to even get to the hospital.
“Staff on the front-line have worked tirelessly, but have been continually failed by an SNP government that has refused to admit that the NHS, our most valued service, is in crisis. We cannot allow dangerously lengthy waits at A&E to become the new normal.
“Enough is enough – Humza Yousaf must act to end the chaos in A&E departments before lives are lost.”
Meanwhile, this will also have an effect on people travelling to hospital either at the RAH or the Queen Elizabeth.
Average speed cameras are going to be set up during four months of roadworks on the busy stretch of the M8 between the junctions for the Braehead Shopping Centre and the Clyde Tunnel.
A £2 million programme of bridge refurbishment works will begin on Monday 7th March between Junctions 25 and 25A lasting through until the end of June.
Maintenance firm Amey is warning drivers about overnight closures of the motorway and narrow lanes during the project, but all the slip roads will remain open.
The refurbishment works are being undertaken on three bridges including bridge deck waterproofing, concrete repairs, parapet upgrades, drainage improvements and resurfacing works.
A contraflow will be in operation for much of the period with the motorway having to be closed overnight when cones and barriers have to be repositioned.
Average speed cameras will be set up to control the speed of traffic passing through the work zone and ensure safety with the narrower lanes.
For up-to-date travel information follow @SWTrunkRoads and @TrafficScotland on Twitter.
Bridge picture by Robert Beacon