A Renfrewshire MSP has slammed Humza Yousaf as the “man with no plan” after shock A&E stats were revealed.
Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, has branded Health Secretary Humza Yousaf as “the man with no plan” after the latest A&E statistics from across the country were deemed the worst on record.
The stats published today show that during week ending September 11, only 63.5 per cent of attendances were seen and resulted in a subsequent admission, transfer or discharge within four hours – the worst performance against the four-hour standard on record.
Don't miss the latest headlines from around Renfrewshire. Sign up to our newsletters here.
At the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley only 57.8 per cent of patients were seen within the four-hour target, with 759 people waiting more than four hours.
Mr O'Kane, Scottish Labour spokesperson on Public Health, said: “For anyone who has given Humza Yousaf the benefit of the doubt, it must now be dawning on them that he is not the Health Secretary that will solve this crisis because he’s actually the man with no plan.
“His announcement of a £50 million investment to ease pressures on A&E was announced in June and we’ve still to see that investment make any difference to the problems currently facing the dedicated staff of our A&E departments and the patients who are using them.
“Month after month of worrying stats and yet nothing but spin has come from Humza Yousaf in response."
We reported earlier this month how millions of pounds would be pumped into Paisley’s Royal Alexandra Hospital to help end long waiting times at A&E.
The Scottish Government confirmed the Paisley hospital would get a share of the £50million allocated to health boards to drive down waiting times in emergency departments.
The news came just two days after statistics were published showing that almost half of all patients attending A&E at the RAH were not seen within the four-hour target time.
In the final week of August, 53.9 per cent of patients were seen, treated admitted or discharged within four hours.
The Scottish Government target requires 95 per cent of all patients attending A&E in Scotland be seen within four hours.
The figures mean the RAH recorded its worst ever performance in A&E waiting times in August.
Mr O’Kane says the Coresbar Drive facility deserves better, stating: “We haven’t seen evidence of investment that has worked, instead we see the RAH struggle and its staff and patients let down.
“Yousaf must address not what he plans to do in the coming months but what he aims to do now to make a credible and positive improvement to how our A&E departments are operating.
“The RAH and all the other A&E departments in the country deserve better than what they are currently getting under Humza Yousaf and his SNP Government."
Mr Yousaf admitted the figures are “not acceptable”.
He said: “Our accident and emergency departments are working under significant pressure and, in common with health services across the rest of the UK and globally, the impact of the pandemic continues to affect services.
“Notwithstanding this, I am clear that the current level of performance is not acceptable.
“That is why I am determined to improve performance and am working closely with boards on a number of measures to reduce pressure on hospitals.
“This includes the national roll-out of our outpatient antimicrobial therapy service which allows patients to be treated at home or in the community which has already saved 45,000 bed days.
“This is funded through our £50m unscheduled care collaborative programme which looks to drive down waiting times through a range of actions, including further development of Flow Navigation Centres in every board to ensure rapid access to a clinician and scheduled appointments, where possible.”
Download the FREE Renfrewshire Live app now for all the latest news, features and sport in your area. Available on both Android and Apple. D ownload here: smarturl.it/RenfrewLiveSocial
