WARNING signs about problems in a Scottish accident and emergency department had been "loud and clear" for months before action was taken, Labour Leader Jim Murphy has said.
He visited the Royal Alexandra Hospital (RAH), in Paisley, after the Scottish Government announced they were sending in a special support team because of the long queues for beds.
The Labour leader, whose constituency includes the hospital, said it was also clear the problems in Paisley were not unique.
Figures suggest even fewer patients have been treated in line with the Scottish Government's four hour waiting time target at the Western Infirmary in Glasgow. Health board papers show there was also a week last month when Hairmyres Hospital in Lanarkshire failed to deal with 23% of patients in time.
Ministers receive weekly updates on A&E waiting times, but do not release them, and are coming under increasing pressure to make these figures public.
Mr Murphy said: "It is clear this problem at the RAH has been brewing for months and the SNP government ministers either hid the reports showing this in piles of paper on their desks or were just absent from the desks running the referendum. The warning signs were loud and clear for months but were ignored."
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine, which released a report six months ago warning about the dangers of patients backing-up in A&Es, has issued an update saying the situation has deteriorated across the UK.
Dr David Chung, vice chair of the Scottish board of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, welcomed support for the RAH but said there were also issues elsewhere. He said: "The college welcomes any support that is given to any of these hospitals which find themselves in difficulty. It has to be constructive support. They must not be afraid to recognise when there are resource implications. If, unfortunately, it is perceived by staff that they are getting brow beaten that could be counterproductive."
The problem of patients waiting for hours on trolleys in A&E departments reflects issues running through-out the health and social care system. These patients have usually been seen and treated by frontline doctors but are waiting for space to be found for them on a hospital ward. One of the reasons beds are in short supply is because of difficulties discharging people to community care services.
This winter the main flu virus causing serious illness in Scotland is not entirely covered by the flu vaccine, potentially putting more people at risk. The latest bulletin shows 45 people have needed intensive care treatment because of complications from flu and 11 have died. However, while the number of people seeing their GP about flu symptoms is higher than last year, it is not unexpectedly high for the time of year.
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