Scottish Conservative and Unionist MSP Sue Webber for the Lothian region is urging SNP Ministers to “get on top of” spiralling waiting times in accident and emergency departments.
Sue Webber MSP’s call comes after the latest weekly A&E waiting time statistics showed only 80.1% of patients across Scotland were seen within four hours.
The SNP’s target is for 95% of patients to be treated within four hours, with hundreds of patients also waiting more than eight or twelve hours.
No mainland health board met the 95% target. In NHS Lothian only 79.6% were treated within four hours of arriving at A&E. That is only a slight improvement on the week ending July 4th when only 84.2% of patients were seen within four hours.
Sue Webber MSP is continuing to push SNP Ministers to back Scottish Conservative plans for a one-off investment of £600 million in the NHS to specifically tackle waiting times.
Scottish Conservative and Unionist MSP Sue Webber said: “Our heroic frontline staff in accident and emergency departments are under ever increasing pressure.
“They are simply not being fully supported by SNP Ministers who must get on top of this situation. It is patients in NHS Lothian who are paying the price by having to wait longer and longer in accident and emergency.
“It is completely unacceptable that only 79.6% of patients were seen within four hours. That is well below the SNP’s target of 95% and waiting times are threatening to spiral out of control on the SNP’s watch.
“Across Scotland, the SNP have not hit their 95% target for over a year and that should be a source of shame.
“Patients in NHS Lothian must be treated as quickly as possible. I will continue to push SNP Ministers to back Scottish Conservative plans for a one-off £600 million investment to specifically tackle waiting times.
“As we look to remobilise our NHS, hundreds of patients cannot continue to wait hours on end to be treated in accident and emergency in NHS Lothian.”
