Swinney apologises over 50-hour A&E wait amid angry clashes on NHS performance

John Swinney has apologised to a woman who faced a 50-hour wait in A&E, amid angry clashes in Holyrood on the performance of the NHS.

The First Minister said he would write to Lynn Nelson, who told of being left in a holding wing at University Hospital Wishaw for more than two days.

Conservative MSP Meghan Gallacher raised her case at First Minister’s Questions on Thursday, saying she had spoken to Mrs Nelson and the patient described the North Lanarkshire hospital as being like a “warzone”.

Mr Swinney said: “I apologise for the long wait experienced by the patient referred to by Meghan Gallacher and to anyone whose experience of the NHS has fallen short.

“Services have been under exceptional pressure due to a number of issues, including a rise in winter illness as I recounted to Parliament last week.”

The First Minister said he will hold further meetings with health boards, aimed at ensuring each core A&E department has a frailty unit which can shorten stays.

Labour health spokeswoman Dame Jackie Baillie criticised the SNP’s handling of A&E performance, saying: “Each week the First Minister says sorry and each week it gets worse.”

This prompted an angry response from the SNP leader, who said Dame Jackie’s assertions were “not true”.

Amid shouting from the opposition benches, including the Conservatives’, Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone was repeatedly forced to step in to try and calm the chamber.

Mr Swinney said NHS performance is “not where we want it to be” but there has been a week-on-week improvement since late December.

He added: “Jackie Baillie should stop running down the staff of the Scottish National Health Service.”