By Democrat reporter
The SNP is “gambling” with the lives of West Dunbartonshire residents, according to Dumbarton MSP Jackie Baillie, pictured right.
It comes after analysis found that the rise in A&E waits may have led to up to 437 excess deaths within the area served by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board.
Despite the best efforts of hardworking NHS staff, the number of patients across Scotland waiting more than eight hours in A&E rose by 25 percent between January and October 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.
A&E performance at Paisley’s Royal Alexandra Hospital was fourth worst in the country, it emerged two weeks ago.
The under-pressure site performed even worse than NHS GGC’s busy Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, which saw almost double the number of patients.
And NHS bosses will add to the toll on A&E teams at the RAH if they go ahead with a plan to close the Vale of Leven Hospital’s Minor Injuries Unit overnight.
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine calculates that for every 72 patients who wait 8-12 hours after arriving in A&E, there will be one excess death.
Vale of Leven Hospital, the Queen Elizabeth/Children’s Hospital and the Royal Alexandra Hospital.
So far in 2024, 31,436 patients in the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde area have had to wait more than eight hours to be seen and admitted, transferred or discharged – translating as up to 437 excess deaths.
Scottish Labour MSP, Jackie Baillie, said: “For all the stories of exhausting and anxious waits in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s emergency departments, there are those who never lived to tell the tale.
“Our hard-worked NHS staff are going above and beyond to keep services going and keep people safe, but they are being let down by an incompetent SNP government.
The health board’s plans to divert more patients away from the Vale of Leven Hospital’s Minor Injuries Unit overnight and route them to A&E will not help staff or waiting times.
“The SNP’s negligence is doing more than causing frustration — they are gambling with Scots’ lives.
“The UK Labour government has delivered a record Budget settlement for Scotland, but it’s up to the SNP to ensure it goes on frontline services so that every patient in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde can get the treatment they need.”