By Lucy Ashton
SNP incompetence has led to a ‘permanent crisis’ in A&E, Scottish Labour has warned today, as weekly figures show no sustained improvement since Michael Matheson took over.
For the week ending 9 July 2023, a meagre 68.9% of patients were seen and admitted, transferred or discharged within 4 hours.
This has changed very little since Michael Matheson took over as health secretary, remaining below 70% for every month except May since he took over the role.
Shockingly, nearly 1 in 10 (1,980) patients spent over eight hours in an emergency department before being seen and admitted, transferred or discharged.
Dame Jackie Baillie, Labour health spokesperson, and Michael Matheson, Health Secretary.
Of those waiting over eight hours, 673 patients waited at least half a day before receiving treatment.
This was despite there being fewer attendances at A&E in that period.
Scottish Labour Health Spokesperson Jackie Baillie said: “These startling figures are a stark reminder of the price we pay for SNP incompetence.
“Our A&E is now stuck in a permanent crisis, with thousands waiting hours on end to receive proper medical care each day.
“Staff are at their wits end trying to provide the best care they can, but the lack of support from government makes their job even harder.
“This has been an issue for months now. It is high time Michael Matheson took his new job seriously and worked with staff to get our emergency departments back on track.”