Scottish Conservative and Unionist MSP for the South Scotland Region Sharon Dowey has accused the SNP of presiding over “terrifying” A&E waiting times in NHS Ayrshire & Arran.
Sharon Dowey’s remarks come after monthly A&E waiting times for November showed that only 65.8% of patients across Scotland were seen within the SNP’s four-hour target waiting time.
The SNP’s target is for 95% of patients to be seen within that time after arriving at A&E. Sharon Dowey MSP says these waits are “intolerable” and “undoubtedly put lives at risk” and insists that the SNP have failed to give dedicated staff the resources they need to see patients quickly enough.
Dowey says that the SNP’s failures mean A&E services in NHS Ayrshire & Arran are in “permanent crisis” mode and that this could “spiral out of control” over winter. Monthly A&E waiting times for November showed that only 71.5% of patients in NHS Ayrshire & Arran were seen within the four-hour target waiting time, with that figure being 76.4% at Crosshouse Hospital, and 58.5% at Ayr Hospital.
She has urged the SNP Health Secretary to come up with a proper plan for the health service, which ensures money gets to the frontline, rather than being wasted on pointless bureaucracy.
Scottish Conservative and Unionist MSP Sharon Dowey said “Far too many patients are waiting too long to be seen in NHS Ayrshire & Arran and we know that undoubtedly puts lives at risk.
“These waits are intolerable and successive SNP health secretaries have left NHS Ayrshire & Arran without the resources to meet the demands of patients turning up in A&E.
“A&E departments are in permanent crisis mode and as winter continues there is a real danger the waits will spiral out of control.
“These waiting times must finally be the wake-up call for the SNP to deliver a proper plan to support Scotland’s NHS. This must prioritise getting money to the frontline in NHS Ayrshire & Arran, rather than being wasted on pointless bureaucracy.”
