Dame Jackie Baillie, Health Secretary Neil Gray and Alex Cole-Hamilton.
By Bill Heaney
The Labour and LibDem spokespersons on health have sent a message to the new health minister Neil Gray – and it’s not a Valentine card.
Dame Jackie Baillie and Alex Cole-Hamilton have told Mr Gray that he must must urgently get to grips with the ongoing crisis in Scotland’s A&E departments.
The legacy left by the distracted departing Cabinet Secretary, Michael Matheson, is laid bare in statistics published this morning (Tuesday).
Dame Jackie Baillie said: “These statistics have shown that in the week ending 4th February only 63.5 per cent of people attending A&E were seen within four hours. Over 3,400 patients waited over 8 hours, of which 1,400 waited over half a day.
“The situation at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow was particularly dire with only 44.6 per cent of patients treated within the four-hour standard, resulting in over 1,000 Scots waiting longer. Similarly, over 1,000 patients waited over 4 hours in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.
Scottish Labour health spokesperson, Dame Jackie Baillie said: “We might have a new health minister but it is clear that we have the same old chaos in our A&E departments.
“Neil Gray inherits an NHS plunged into disarray by the failures of successive SNP health ministers.
“While staff work tirelessly to save lives, the SNP has indulged in a revolving-door policy with health secretaries leaving post long before they got to grips with the crisis.
“Neil Gray must show now why he has what it takes to succeed where so many – including Humza Yousaf – have failed.”
Meanwhile, LibDem Alex Cole-Hamilton added: “New figures showing that only 63.5% of people attending A&E were seen within the 4 hour target in the week ending 4th February, while 3,482 people waited over 8 hours.
“Scotland’s NHS has been consistently failed by its ministers in the last few years. Humza Yousaf with his NHS Recovery Plan that completely failed and Michael Matheson who was too focused on salvaging his career to focus on the needs of staff and patients.
“The new Health Secretary must not allow these dire waiting times in Scotland’s A&E departments to continue to simply be the new normal.
“Staff and patients need to see real action from this government.
“Scottish Liberal Democrats would overhaul the NHS Recovery Plan, bring forward an urgent inquiry into the hundreds of avoidable deaths linked to the emergency care crisis and implement measures which will meaningfully tackle burnout among staff.”
A&E attendance, w/e 4 February 2024
There were 25,212 unplanned attendances at EDs in NHS Scotland
Attendances of under 4 hours
- 15,999 (63.5%) of ED attendances were seen and resulted in a subsequent admission, transfer or discharge within 4 hours.
Attendances of over 8 hours
- 3,482 (13.8%) patients spent more than 8 hours in an Emergency Department
Attendances of over 12 hours
- 1,483 (5.9%) patients spent more than 12 hours in an Emergency Department.