A Lanarkshire MSP says her "inbox is overflowing" with locals fed up of NHS waiting times and waiting for vital treatment.
NHS Lanarkshire 's A&E waiting times for September show only 56.7 per cent of patients were seen within four hours, while only 58.8 per cent were seen in four hours in NHS Forth Valley, with figures also showing an increase in delayed discharges.
As all local hospitals struggle to cope operating above normal capacity, Central Scotland MSP Monica Lennon is calling on the Scottish Government to take urgent action on the crisis.
She told Lanarkshire Live : “NHS and social care services in Scotland are falling deeper into crisis, and nowhere is this more evident than in Lanarkshire and Forth Valley.
“My inbox is overflowing with emails from constituents who have endured horrendous waits for NHS treatment, or have loved ones stuck in hospital taking up precious beds because social care is completely broken.
“We simply can’t go on like this.
"Healthcare staff are on their knees and who can blame those who are choosing to leave for the sake of their own health and wellbeing.
“No one denies the impact of COVID-19, but we need a Health and Social Care Secretary who can make things better. Instead, we are seeing this crisis get worse and worse by the day.
“The SNP government has been in charge of the NHS and social care for 15 years and appears to be running out of ideas.
“The buck stops with Humza Yousaf and Nicola Sturgeon and they must take urgent and effective action because lives are at risk.”
Responding to the increasing pressures Lanarkshire hospitals are facing, Judith Park, NHS Lanarkshire director of acute services, said all three hospitals here are operating "well above" normal capacity, which is having a significant impact on service provision and waiting times.
She added: "Across our system, pressures have continued to increase due to such factors as COVID-19 infections, rising attendances and workforce availability.
"All of this has contributed to a very understandable sense of frustration and distress for service users, carers and their families, as well as for staff across our teams and services.
"We prioritise and treat people based on the seriousness of their condition.
"All our emergency departments remain open but we are urging everyone intending to turn up that, unless their condition is life-threatening, to consider the alternatives.
"You can call NHS 24 on 111 day or night, where you will be directed to the right NHS service. If you just need health care advice, then please use the NHS Inform website."
Answering the calls for the Scottish Government to act, Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “While Scotland’s A&E performance continues to be the best of all four nations, our performance is not where I want it to be. A&E departments continue to experience significant pressure and, in common with healthcare systems in the UK and globally, the pandemic is still impacting services.
“I have been clear that recovery will not happen overnight and we are working to reduce system pressure as we enter what will be an extremely challenging winter period.
“We are supporting services through our £600 million winter plan which will see us recruit 1,000 new NHS staff, including up to 750 frontline nurses from overseas. Our £50 million Urgent and Unscheduled Care Collaborative looks to drive down A&E waits by offering alternatives to hospital, such as Hospital at Home; directing people to more appropriate urgent care settings and scheduling urgent appointments to avoid long waits.
“A&E pressures are being driven by delays in discharge elsewhere in our hospitals. That’s why a key focus of our winter plan is on social care and actions to encourage integration authorities to help ease delays.”
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