HEALTH Secretary Shona Robison has said patients should continue to move into Scotland's newest hospital despite concerns people have already had to queue on trolleys in the accident and emergency department.
Richard Simpson, Labour MSP, raised concern in the Scottish Parliament about reports of "chaotic" scenes on the frontline of the new South Glasgow University Hospital (SGUH) and asked what modelling had been done of patient numbers.
His query followed descriptions of paramedics waiting with patients in corridors to see nurses and patients being diverted to Glasgow Royal Infirmary.
Health board NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has apologised, saying some patients have waited longer than they would have wished in what is an £842m building.
Ms Robison said: "I have discussed these matters with the NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde chairman and am getting daily updates from the health board.
"These updates indicate that, while there were some issues with long waits last week, the board has taken immediate actions and performance has improved. It is now important that the migration of services continues with minimal disruption to patients and the care provided."
The new SGUH merges three old hospitals into one new one. So far services have moved from two of the old sites, the Southern General and the Victoria Infimary. Patients and services are due to transfer from the Western Infirmary into the new building this coming weekend.
In a statement NHS GGC said: "During this migration period not all the services and new ways of working are in place as services are being maintained on multiple sites...
"When the migration is complete in early June the new models will be in place and the emergency department and immediate assessment unit will work in tandem to manage all emergency admissions. We are fully confident that the two departments have the physical capacity and staffing levels to treat quickly and efficiently the anticipated 106,000 patients every year."
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