By Lucy Ashton
Scottish Labour has today warned health minister Michael Matheson of the ‘deadly mess’ in A&E left by his predecessor, as statistics show one of the worst monthly performances on record.
During February 2023, only 69.7% of attendances were seen and admitted, transferred or discharged within the 4 hour standard, despite the hard work of the staff.
This left a shocking 10,709 patients waiting over 8 hours to receive care – over 10% of the total.
A further 4,751 patients were left to suffer in A&E for more than 12 hours before being admitted, transferred, or discharged.
Despite minimal change in overall attendances when compared to 12 months previous, performance against the standard has slipped by four and a half percentage points.
Weekly stats were no better. For the week ending 26 March, almost 4,000 patients languished in A&E for over 8 hours before being seen.
Scottish Labour Health Spokesperson Jackie Baillie said: “Michael Matheson has a formidable job ahead of him and his new boss has left him a serious mess to clean up.
“Under Humza Yousaf’s stewardship, A&E wait times sky-rocketed and countless lives were lost as a result.
Jackie Baillie, Michael Matheson, Humza Yousaf and Christine Jardine.
“Mr Yousaf left his role in health without resolving any of the issues such as waiting times and delayed discharge that would have eased the pressure on emergency departments and helped hardworking staff do their jobs.
“I sincerely hope that Michael Matheson will prove more up to the job. He should start by tackling the chaos in A&E, the 1 in 7 Scots on waiting lists, and the failure to meet cancer treatment targets.”
During February 2023:
There were 110,807 attendances at A&E services in Scotland.
- 69.7% of attendances at A&E services were seen and resulted in a subsequent admission, transfer or discharge within 4 hours.
- 10,709 (10%) patients spent more than 8 hours in an A&E department.
- 4,751 (4.4%) patients spent more than 12 hours in an A&E department.
- 25.3% of attendances led to an admission to hospital.
- In February 2022, 110,294 attendances were recorded at A&E, with 74.2% of patients seen within the four-hour performance standard.
During week ending 26 March 2023:
- There were 25,658 attendances at Emergency Departments in NHSScotland.
- 63.4% of ED attendances were seen and resulted in a subsequent admission, transfer or discharge within 4 hours.
- 3,750 patients spent more than 8 hours in an Emergency Department.
- 1,658 patients spent more than 12 hours in an Emergency Department.
Meanwhile, Responding to new figures showing that only 63.4% of patients were seen across Scotland within the 4 hour target, Liberal Democrat Scottish Affairs spokesperson Christine Jardine said: “These new statistics throw Michael Matheson’s assessment that Humza Yousaf was a good Health Secretary into sharp relief as the longest waits continue to get longer. The new Health Secretary cannot afford to keep taking patients and staff for granted just like his predecessor did.
“It’s disheartening that this government has already shown it would rather prioritise independence than the NHS. Michael Matheson should start his tenure as Health Secretary by dropping his government’s opposition to our constructive proposals such as an urgent inquiry into the hundreds of avoidable deaths linked to the emergency care crisis, a burnout prevention strategy and a health and social care staff assembly.”