By Lucy Ashton
The crisis in A&E is still putting local lives at risk, Jackie Baillie has warned.
In the week ending July 2nd just two thirds of patients presenting at the emergency department at the Royal Alexandra Hospital were seen within the target time of four hours.
At the same point in 2019, 83.4 percent of patients were seen within four hours at the Paisley hospital where patients from Dumbarton, the Vale of Leven, Helensburgh and Lomond attend meaning performance has plummeted over that period.
The latest statistics also showed that 60 people were left waiting for more than eight hours at the A&E department of the Paisley hospital.
Dumbarton constituency MSP, Dame Jackie Baillie, pictured right, said: “A&E in Scotland is still in chaos and it is still putting lives at risk – we cannot accept that this is the new normal.
“Dedicated NHS staff are working tirelessly to deliver the best possible service but they are being failed by this incompetent SNP government.
“It is utterly unacceptable for patients to be waiting longer than four hours – this access standard exists for a reason as long waits increase the likelihood of worse outcomes for patients, including mortality.
“The Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley where my constituents attend consistently has some of the worst figures in the whole of Scotland and for 60 people to wait for more than eight hours in a single week is not acceptable.
“This problem spiralled out of control when Humza Yousaf was Health Secretary, and he cannot wash his hands of it as First Minister.
“Our NHS is stuck in perpetual crisis – the SNP must start properly supporting staff and tackling delayed discharge to end this scandal of dangerously long waits at the hospital front door.”
During week ending 2 July 2023
- Attendances: There were 25,394 unplanned attendances at EDs in NHS Scotland.
- Attendances of under 4 hours: 17,481 (68.8%) of ED attendances were seen and resulted in a subsequent admission, transfer or discharge within 4 hours. For the same point last year it was 64.9%.
- Attendances of over 8 hours: 1,966 (7.7%) patients spent more than 8 hours in an Emergency Department.
- Attendances of over 12 hours: 600 (2.4%) patients spent more than 12 hours in an Emergency Department.
Source: https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/data-and-intelligence/ae-activity/#section-2-2