Swinney and Gray under fire as Tories say A&E departments in ‘meltdown’

John Swinney and his Health Secretary have been accused of having their “heads stuck in the sand” amid a “meltdown” in the country’s accident and emergency departments.

Scottish Conservatives hit out after the latest weekly figures showed a slight drop in performance against a key waiting time target for A&E departments.

Public Health Scotland data showed that in the week ending Sunday July 13, 67.7% of patients attending A&E were seen and then either admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours.

Health Secretary Neil Grey said that while emergency departments are under “sustained pressure”, the government is “working to increase capacity and invest in measures to reduce the longest waits”.

His comments came as figures showed that of the 26,658 who went to A&E for help in the week ending July 13, a total of 18,058 were admitted, transferred or discharged within the target time.

That however meant that 8,600 patients waited longer than four hours, with this including 2,457 patients – 9.2% of those attending – who were there for eight hours or more.

The data also showed 963 patients (3.6%) were in A&E for at least 12 hours.

Scottish Conservative health spokesperson Dr Sandesh Gulhane MSP said: “John Swinney should be ashamed to show his face. It’s the middle of summer – yet nearly a third of patients are still waiting over four hours in A&E.

“That’s not a system under pressure – it’s a system in meltdown after nearly two decades of chronic SNP mismanagement.

“Because of their incompetence, far too many Scots are needlessly losing their lives. These aren’t just statistics, they’re families grieving loved ones lost too soon.

“This is fast becoming Scotland’s national shame, but John Swinney and Neil Gray still have their heads stuck in the sand.”

Labour health spokesperson Jackie Baillie was also critical of Scottish Government, claiming: “Thousands of Scots are still enduring agonising waits at A&E departments due to SNP failure to tackle this issue.”

She added: “It is shameful that 2,457 patients spent more than eight hours waiting to get help, while 963 Scots spent more than 12 hours in A&E.

“Scottish Labour would focus on cutting A&E waiting times and ensure our health service has the resources it needs after years of disastrous management by the SNP.”

Mr Gray, however, insisted the Scottish Government was acting to try to relieve pressures in A&E.

The Health Secretary said: “Our A&E departments continue to face sustained pressure — a challenge not unique to Scotland, as similar strains are being felt across the UK.”

The Health Secretary added that despite this, “Scotland’s core A&E sites have consistently been the best performing in the UK over the past decade”.

Mr Gray went on to highlight Scottish Government action, saying: “Through the record funding for health and social care in this year’s Budget, we are working to increase capacity and invest in measures to reduce the longest waits — ensuring patients receive faster access to the care they need.

“We remain determined to drive further improvements.

“The expansion of our Hospital at Home programme, will allow more people to receive high-quality NHS care in the comfort of their own homes.

“By increasing capacity to 2,000 beds by December 2026, we will effectively create the largest ‘hospital’ in the country.”