The elderly mother-in-law of a Labour MSP waited for eight hours on a hospital trolley before being found a bed, it was claimed today.

The elderly mother-in-law of a Labour MSP waited for eight hours on a hospital trolley before being found a bed, it was claimed today.

The 77-year-old mother-in-law of Michael McMahon was sent to Monklands Hospital in Lanarkshire yesterday after a routine clinic appointment for heart murmur.

But it was not until midnight that a bed was found for her as "overwhelmed" staff struggled to cope.

Labour said the experience showed the Scottish Government was failing to get to grips with a winter crisis.

Mr McMahon, MSP for Hamilton and Bellshill, said: "My impression was that the staff at Monklands Hospital were totally overwhelmed through no fault of their own.

"The A&E department was struggling to cope with the high number of patients, many with respiratory problems.

"I was disappointed for the staff that were clearly harassed and coming under increasing pressure from frustrated and upset patients."

Labour declined to name the MSP's mother-in-law, saying: "In his view the story is not about an individual's treatment but about the situation that the staff and the hospital are having to cope with."

Mr McMahon saw staff at Monklands "overwhelmed and under increasing pressure" from frustrated and upset patients.

By mid-afternoon Monklands Hospital was 40 beds short and the situation at two other Lanarkshire hospitals, Hairmyres and Wishaw Hospitals was even worse, said Labour.

Labour health spokeswoman Cathy Jamieson said: "I warned the Scottish Government that they had left the NHS more exposed to a winter crisis than at any time in the last decade.

"(Health secretary) Nicola Sturgeon has been far too complacent and hospitals are now struggling to cope, with patients being cared for on trolleys in hospital corridors. This is completely unacceptable.

"Nicola Sturgeon needs to stop making excuses and get a grip. Under her watch, bed blocking has doubled while the overall number of hospital beds has fallen.

"The SNP's failure to plan properly for this winter has let down both staff and patients, who deserve better."

But an aide to Ms Sturgeon hit back: "If the Labour Party had had its way then this New Year the accident and emergency facility at Monklands Hospital would be closing - it was only the election of an SNP Government that halted Labour's scheme to scrap A&E at Monklands.

"Even after they were kicked out of government, Labour continued to campaign to shut the casualty unit at Monklands.

"Labour would have betrayed the NHS and the people of Lanarkshire but the SNP Government acted decisively to save the facility and to keep three A&E hospitals in Lanarkshire."

The MSP's mother-in-law, who is from Bellshill, attended the clinic yesterday in a different part of the hospital, and was sent from there to the A&E department, said Labour.

NHS Lanarkshire said the hospital had yesterday received a record 76 emergency medical admissions, or double the daily average.

Dr Barry Vallance, the board's associate medical director, said: "Overall throughout the festive period the winter plan has worked very well. We acknowledge, however, that the number of emergency medical admissions yesterday was exceptional.

"At Monklands Hospital we recorded the highest number of emergency medical admissions ever experienced."

He said yesterday's admissions included large numbers of elderly patients badly ill with respiratory conditions and patients with broken bones from the frosty weather - both categories needing intensive nursing and medical attention.

"We have not cancelled any elective procedures and all urgent and cancer in-patient procedures have proceeded as planned," he said.

All day cases were continuing as normal, as was a new service at Hairmyres hospital for heart attack patients.

"The three acute hospitals continue to receive urgent emergency admissions at all times," he said.

"The emergency activity figures from yesterday have been exceptional and were even greater than our planning assumptions.

"The activity levels today have not been as significant as yesterday and our staff are working extremely hard to return service to normal."

The Scottish Government said Monklands coped "remarkably well" yesterday.

"All available beds were opened and indeed an extra 30 were made available across local hospitals as part of the board's winter plan," said a spokeswoman.

"The first Monday after new year is traditionally the busiest time of the year for A&E departments and all three hospitals in Lanarkshire were very busy all day.

"However, patients continued to receive the treatment they need."

And SNP MSP Alex Neil said: "Whilst everyone can have sympathy with Mr McMahon's mother-in-law he is ill-advised to use this situation for a party political attack.

"It is all the more ill-advised since he voted for the closure of that very same A&E department in January 2007.

"If the SNP had not been elected to government it would not have existed and Lanarkshire's remaining A&E department's would have been put under even more pressure since these were exceptional circumstances."