Hundreds of hospital patients were left waiting more than 12 hours in Glasgow's A&E departments ahead of Christmas.
Figures show that a record number of people were left waiting for more than 12 hours in the week leading up to December 25 with barely half of all patients in Glasgow being seen on time.
Public Health Scotland reported that 567 patients waited more than half a day to be seen in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde hospitals. At the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, 224 people faced a long wait.
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The number of people facing a 12-hour wait was over six times that seen the week before and came despite a fall in people attending the A&E department. A further 512 people waited more than eight hours to be seen while 913 waited more than four hours.
At Glasgow Royal Infirmary, 177 people waited over 12 hours to be seen by a professional - only slightly higher than the number left waiting the same time on the week leading up to December 18.
Of the 1,433 people who attended the emergency unit, 410 waited more than eight hours to be seen while 834 waited more than four hours.
At Paisley's Royal Alexandra Hospital, 145 people waited more than 12 hours to be seen, 317 waited more than eight and another 615 waited for more than four.
One family faced a wait of over 12 hours to have their child seen at the Royal Hospital for Children.
The figures come after health board bosses warned people only to attend A&E if their situation was "urgent or life-threatening". They said services were facing increasing pressure during an 'already challenging period'.
Dr John Paul Loughrey, of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, told the BBC that patients were being kept in "inhumane" conditions due to high occupancy.
He told the news outlet that discussions were ongoing at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital regarding whether a critical incident should be declared but NHSGGC refused to do so.
NHS Lanarkshire also faced extended waiting times for patients with 182 people at Hairmyres Hospital, 188 people at Monklands Hospital, and 180 at Wishaw General Hospital waiting more than half a day to be seen.
A spokesperson for NHSGCC said: "Our services, like the whole of NHS Scotland, are facing major pressures including significant Covid, flu, and norovirus cases and our staff are doing all they can to meet this demand.
"NHSGGC is taking a number of actions to support our A&E departments at this time including recruiting staff as available, diverting staff from other activities to support patients arriving via our A&Es and creating additional inpatient capacity."
Dr Scott Davidson, Deputy Medical Director for Acute Services at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde,added: “We apologise to any patients who have had to wait longer for emergency care as our hospitals are currently facing significant pressures. Our staff are working relentlessly to ensure patients receive the best care possible and an alternative service to A&E may be the best option for your condition. “
"Whilst all of our services are experiencing extreme demand, we would ask the public only to attend A&E if is urgent or life-threatening."
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