Local MSP Brian Whittle has blasted the Scottish Government’s handling of rising waiting times in A&E’s saying the latest figures are a “damning indictment” of their stewardship of the NHS.
The South Scotland MSP’s attack comes as the latest figures show over 28% of patients in NHS Ayrshire & Arran waited more than four hours to be seen in A&E. That was almost 3% worse than A&E performance last week.
The SNP have repeatedly pledged that no more than 5% of patients should wait more than four hours to be seen in A&E but that target hasn’t been hit since July 2020.
Brian says Health Secretary Humza Yousaf is failing to get a grip on the rising figures in Ayrshire & Arran and expressed his concern that we are still some way from the peak of winter demand in the health service.
Brian Whittle MSP said “Despite weeks and weeks of more and more patients waiting longer than four hours to be seen in A&E, the situation only seems to be getting worse, not better, on Humza Yousaf’s watch.
No-one in the SNP Government, least of all the Health Secretary, seems able to get a grip of the situation and patients are paying the price for it.
Growing A&E waiting times are just another symptom of the SNP’s failure to properly support the NHS’s recovery from the effects of the pandemic, and this is before we reach the peak of winter demand for care.
I’m glad that the UK Armed Forces are now stepping in to help deliver vital NHS services, but if the Health Secretary had been quicker responding to the situation, they might not have been needed.
Even now, the Scottish Government are giving no sign that they have a clear plan for how to deal with the massive pressure on our NHS and that should concern us all.”
