ONE patient in every 13 attending accident and emergency departments had to wait more than four hours to be seen, according to the latest weekly figures.
Official figures showed fewer patients were being seen on time in line with Scottish Government targets, and the figures were described as a “wake-up call” for ministers as winter approaches.
Figures for the week ending October 9 show 92.6 per cent of all patients were seen and either admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours - below the Scottish Government’s target of 95 per cent.
In all, 130 people spent more than eight hours in an A&E department, with 22 enduring a wait of more than 12 hours.
Data for Glasgow’s flagship Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) show only 84.9 per cent of patients were seen within the four-hour target time.
Scottish shadow health secretary Donald Cameron said the figures were worrying, adding: “Hospitals have consistently struggled to hit A&E targets on the SNP’s watch.
“It has been in power for nearly a decade, yet still the Scottish Government can’t seem to get to grips with this. And with winter around the corner, ministers should be ensuring hospitals are ready for even more vulnerable patients coming through the door.”
Liberal Democrat health spokesman Alex Cole-Hamilton also said the figures were concerning with the winter period approaching.
He said: “These are the worst weekly A&E performance statistics we have seen since March 27.
“Pressure on doctors and nurses working on the frontline of our NHS is only going to get worse. SNP ministers cannot afford to simply cross their fingers and hope for the best. Doctors, nurses and patients need extra support now.”
Labour health spokesman Anas Sarwar said: “Winter always increases pressure on our A&E wards. Our hospitals are facing increasing pressure under the SNP government, with nine out of 10 nurses saying their workload is getting worse.”
However, Public Health Minister Aileen Campbell said weekly figures were bound to fluctuate but the overall trend was in the right direction.
“We are monitoring this closely to ensure no-one is waiting longer than absolutely necessary in our emergency departments,” she said.
“The last few weeks have been very busy for our hospitals, with A&E attendances significantly above last year . However, our emergency departments are still maintaining a high level of performance, with Scotland’s A&E waiting times consistently outperform- ing other areas of the UK.
“We will also be working with particular boards and hospitals that are experiencing challenges to understand why performance has dipped and look at where improvements can be made.”
A spokesman for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: “Performance figures for emergency departments, by their nature, will always fluctuate on a day to day basis. Although performance fluctuates across individual hospitals, the QEUH included, the board as a whole continues to make progress in meeting unscheduled care challenges.”
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