Scottish Conservative MSP Brian Whittle is calling for the Scottish Government to set out how it plans to deal with the continuing A&E waiting times crisis.
The South Scotland MSP has welcomed the arrival of help from the UK Armed Forces to support Scotland’s ambulance service but remains concerned that services in Ayrshire & Arran are under extreme pressure and believes Health Secretary Humza Yousaf needs to do more.
In NHS Ayrshire & Arran, 24% of A&E patients are still not being seen within four hours. That’s slightly worse than last week when the figure was 22.8%. The SNP have repeatedly pledged to meet a target that no more than 5% of people should wait longer than four hours to be seen.
Brian wants Humza Yousaf to give more details about how the Scottish Government plan to make the most of the help from the Armed Forces to support staff across Ayrshire & Arran and reduce waiting times.
Brian Whittle MSP said:
“The pressure on A&E in Ayrshire & Arran and across Scotland is still massive. Having nearly a quarter of all patients waiting longer than four hours to be seen in A&E is deeply concerning.
That’s almost five times the SNP’s own target and completely unacceptable. I’m hopeful that the arrival of the UK Armed Forces personnel will help reduce waiting times and improve the situation.
However, after dragging their feet on asking for help, Humza Yousaf and the Scottish Government have still to set out how they plan to make best use of the Armed Forces to drive down waiting times.
Staff in Ayrshire & Arran are still under massive pressure. They need reassurance that the Scottish Government have a workable plan to help. The Health Secretary needs to get on top of the situation and ensure more patients in Ayrshire & Arran are seen within four hours at A&E.”
