By Lucy Ashton
Jackie Baillie has warned that A&E is “on life support” as new figures show less than two thirds of people attending at the Royal Alexandra Hospital were seen within the Scottish Government’s four-hour target time.
Scotland-wide the figures for the week ending, March 6 were among the worst on record with just 70.5 percent of people being seen, resulting in a subsequent admission, transfer or discharge within four hours.
The figure for Paisley’s RAH, where patients from Helensburgh, Balloch, Alexandria and Dumbarton attend was just 60.3 percent.
Over the course of the week, 1,825 patients across Scotland waited more than eight hours – a tenth of these (180) were at the RAH while 643 waited more than 12 hours, 66 of whom were at the RAH.
This is one of the worst weeks on record nationally, with performance only falling below this on four occasions in the past. It is the worst recorded at the Paisley facility since January 9 this year.
Jackie Baillie, Dumbarton constituency MSP, said: “The crisis in A&E is still raging on despite the incredible efforts of hardworking staff, with performance declining once again.
“Week after week, the chaos in our emergency services has been putting lives on the line – but the SNP are posted missing. Some of the worst figures and longest waits are being seen at Paisley’s RAH which is directly affecting my constituents who are already facing lengthy journeys to the hospital.
“We cannot let chaos become the new normal in our NHS. A&E is on life support – we urgently need a real plan to get services back on track.”
Meanwhile, Jackie Baillie attended the Island Slice Distillery in Dumbarton on Saturday alongside the High Commissioner of St Lucia, His Excellency Anthony Severin.
Sylvester Herman, who is originally from St Lucia, runs the distillery near to Dalreoch, producing rum.
The Dumbarton constituency MSP was delighted to be able to attend over the weekend and gave her backing to the firm.
She said: “It was a joy to visit Island Slice at the weekend to find out more about the rum that Sylvester distills at Dalreoch. The sun was shining as he brought a little slice of the Caribbean to the Clyde.
“It was an incredible honour for Sylvester and a delight for me to meet with His Excellency, Mr Anthony Severin, High Commissioner for St Lucia on the day.
“I wish Sylvester all the best for his venture which I am sure will be a huge success given his incredible enthusiasm and fantastic product.”
Meanwhile, Jackie Baillie has accused the SNP of “environmental vandalism” as new figures show Scotland’s carbon footprint rising.
A report published this week on Scotland’s Carbon Footprint revealed that emissions rose by 2.6 percent between 2017 and 2018.
This follows a damning report by the Climate Change Committee, which warned that progress tackling climate change was “stalling”.
Jackie Baillie said: “Despite years of rhetoric, posturing and empty promises from both parties, carbon emissions are still rising.
“The communities across Dumbarton, Alexandria, Helensburgh and Lomond are determined to do what they can to tackle climate change but there is only so much they can achieve on their own. There needs to be a robust Scotland-wide approach.
“Evidence is piling up by the day that the SNP-Green government are asleep at the wheel in the fight against the climate emergency.
“This environmental vandalism must stop. We need a real plan to tackle emissions, deliver a jobs-first transition, and build a greener future for Scotland.”