Dame Jackie Baillie and Health Minister Michael Matheson.
By Lucy Ashton
Another set of atrocious A&E weekly waits shows that our NHS needs a recovery plan from SNP mismanagement, Scottish Labour said today.
The statistics show that for the week ending 22nd October –
- Only 65.1% of attendances were seen and resulted in a subsequent admission, transfer or discharge within 4 hours.
- In Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, only 43% of patients were seen with the four-hour standard, with over 1,000 waiting longer. In the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, the figure was 49.3% with 1,100 waiting longer.
- 2,700 patients spent more than 8 hours waiting, with 1,200 of these languishing more than 12 hours in an Emergency Department.
Scottish Labour health spokesperson Jackie Baillie said: “Another week and another set of atrocious A&E statistics due to the SNP’s complete failure to support our NHS.
“That over 2,700 patients waited over 8 hours in A&E is simply appalling.
“We are not yet in winter, but A&E departments are already in chaos despite the heroic efforts of NHS staff.
“Warm words from Health Minister Michael Matheson simply won’t cut it any more. NHS staff need support now.
“The SNP promised a recovery plan for our NHS – but what our NHS needs is a plan to recover from the SNP.”
Meanwhile, the ‘human cost’ of 16 years of SNP failure to support the NHS and tackle poverty has been laid bare as new statistics show that death rates are almost twice as high in Scotland’s poorest areas.
The Scotland’s Population 2022 report published this morning by the National Records of Scotland has revealed those in the most deprived areas are also a shocking 16 times more likely to die due to drug misuse.
The report also shows that people in the most deprived areas were 4.3 times more likely to die from alcohol-specific deaths.
Alcoholics gather in a public park for an early morning “swally”.
The report also notes that long term improvements to life have stalled and, most recently, started to reverse. This follows statistics last month that revealed life expectancy is decreasing in Scotland.
In 2020-2022, life expectancy in Scotland was 76.5 years for males and 80.7 years for females; this is a decrease by 3 weeks for males and 5.7 weeks for females since 2019-2021.
Scottish Labour health spokesperson Jackie Baillie said: “This damning report has revealed the horrific human cost of 16 years of SNP failure.
“From taking their eye off the ball on drugs, to failing to support our NHS and tackle poverty, it is clear that the people of Scotland are paying the price of SNP incompetence. Put simply, today’s horrendous statistics are the result of political decisions made by the SNP.
“It is simply wrong that those from the most deprived areas are more likely to die early.
Appeal from Ambulance personnel
