Borders MSP, Rachael Hamilton, says the latest A&E waiting times in the Borders should be a source of shame for SNP Health Secretary Humza Yousaf.
Ms Hamilton’s comments come after the latest weekly statistics for Scotland’s A&E departments showed waiting times have hit another record low.
Only 59.9% of patients were seen within four hours after arriving at A&E in the Borders. The SNP’s own target is for 95% of patients to be seen within four hours, but they have failed to enable NHS Borders to meet this target for several years
Across Scotland, the number of patients waiting over four hours, over eight hours and over 12 hours were all the worst on record on the SNP’s watch.
15% of those attending A&E in the Borders had to endure a wait of over 12 hours, whilst well over a hundred patients waited over 8 hours.
Ms Hamilton, who has written to the health secretary twice over his failure to support NHS Borders, says Humza Yousaf’s flimsy NHS Recovery Plan, produced almost a year ago, simply isn’t cutting it and heroic frontline staff in are being let down by his continued failures.
Rachael Hamilton MSP said:
“Just when you thought A&E waiting times could not get any worse on Humza Yousaf’s watch, they hit another appalling record low. This should be a real source of shame for him.
“The flimsy NHS Recovery Plan produced by the SNP Health Secretary simply isn’t cutting it for patients here in the Borders, and is leading to longer and longer waits at A&E for them.
“The crisis is ever deepening in the A&E department at the BGH due to Humza Yousaf’s continued failures to support our frontline staff. His recent visit there was welcome, but he has failed to follow this up with action. Doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and their patients want to see action.
“The SNP and Green Party Government should be laser focussed on tackling this. Instead they are distracted by their completely irresponsible calls for a second independence referendum.
“It’s time for them to show some leadership and tackle the crisis in A&E at the Borders General Hospital now.”
