RAH is Gray area for new Health Secretary Neil.
By Lucy Ashton
MSP Dame Jackie Baillie has called on Scotland’s new health minister to urgently get to grips with the crisis facing Scotland’s A&E departments.
It comes as data reveals that Paisley’s Royal Alexandra Hospital has again ranked in the top six worst performing emergency centres.
Figures show that the 51.9 per cent of patients attending the RAH’s A&E department were seen in line with the four-hour target in the week ending February 4th.
The Scottish Government’s own targets, rarely met even before the Covid pandemic began, call for 95 per cent of patients attending emergency departments to be treated, admitted or discharged within a four-hour timescale.
Only Forth Valley Royal Infirmary, the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital – also operated by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde – Aberdeen Royal, Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and University Hospital Wishaw, notched up worse performances than the RAH from Scotland’s emergency departments.
Some 518 patients attended the RAH, compared with 1.032 at Edinburgh Royal, 696 at the Wishaw site and 627 at Forth Valley Royal.
Data shows a further slump at the RAH from the 55.3 per cent of patients seen in line with the target timeframe in the previous week.
National figures show that only 63.5 per cent of patients attending A&E were seen within four hours.
Dame Jackie, Dumbarton constituency MSP and Scottish Labour’s health spokesperson, believes that the figures represent the legacy left by scandal-ridden predecessor Michael Matheson for his successor Neil Gray.
Jackie 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.”