Lives at risk as A&E waits worsen, says Labour

Waiting times at Scotland’s emergency departments have worsened in the past week, new figures have shown, prompting Scottish Labour to claim delays are putting lives at risk.

Figures released by Public Health Scotland on Tuesday show just 61.6% of people who attended A&E in the week up to February 2 were seen and subsequently admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours.

Just 60.6% of the unplanned attendances were seen within four hours, while more than 10% of those who arranged their attendance waited longer than that time.

The proportion of people waiting more than 12 hours has also increased, from 6.7% to 7.8% among all attendances, while nine people waited longer than that for a scheduled attendance.

Meanwhile, 16% of those who went to A&E waited longer than eight hours, up from 14.4% the previous week.

Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie hit out at the figures, saying: “Every single week, lives are being put at risk by these dangerously long waits in A&E.

“NHS staff are working tirelessly to keep services going and keep patients safe, but they are being badly failed by the SNP government.

“John Swinney stepped in and took responsibility for fixing the crisis in our NHS, but things are moving in the wrong direction.

“We need to get our NHS back on track and fit for the future, and it’s clear no-one in the SNP is up to the job.”

Scottish Tory health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said Health Secretary Neil Gray “should be ashamed” of the figures.

“The SNP have pushed our NHS to the brink of collapse and don’t have any credible plans to relieve this pressure,” he said.

“John Swinney’s boasts to Parliament that the situation in our health service is improving is simply not the reality for patients and staff.”

The crisis in A&E, said Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton, “shows no signs of letting up”.

“The SNP’s NHS recovery plan has completely failed to improve conditions – if anything, they have gotten worse since it was introduced,” he added.

“Our hard-working NHS staff deserve better.

“They need beds and safe staffing levels but instead have had to deal with the consequences of the SNP’s failure to get a grip on this crisis.”

Responding to the figures, Health Secretary Neil Gray said: “Our A&E departments are still facing sustained demand, and we continue to see higher than normal levels of influenza and increased hospital occupancy, which are adding to pressures.

“Our NHS staff are continuing to work hard to ensure patients are seen as quickly as possible.

“We know some patients are waiting too long for care and this is not good enough – we are determined to drive improvements.

“With cross-party support now agreed, our budget will provide £200 million to address backlogs, improve capacity and remove blockages keeping patients in hospital longer than necessary – this will help us deliver the best possible care for patients.

“We are determined to shift the balance of care from acute, to community. We will help bring about this change by ensuring every A&E front door has a frailty service, so that older people with complex needs can get the care they need.”