Aberdeen Royal Infirmary now has the longest emergency waiting times in Scotland, new figures show.
Recent stats on NHS performance reveals only 43.8% of patients were seen within a four-hour window in the week ending October 2.
This means Aberdeen Royal Infirmary (ARI) has the worst rate of seeing patients out of Scotland’s 229 hospitals.
The information comes after an extremely demanding period for the hospital as NHS Grampian warns of “extreme pressures”.
NHS Highland and Grampian
However, figures for other hospitals in the Highlands and Grampian are all better than the Scottish average.
Raigmore Hospital in Inverness is seeing patients at a rate of 68.1% and Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin is meeting 71.8%.
The exceptionally long waiting times to access ARI treatment can have devastating consequences for people in the north-east.
Across Scotland, the figures are also among the worst on record. During the week ending October 2, 1,510 patients spent more than 12 hours in an emergency department – the highest level recorded.
The worst five hospitals in Scotland
Other hospitals with long waiting times include the Royal Infirmary Of Edinburgh and Forth Valley Royal Hospital.
However, ARI remains the worst.
ARI emergency department struggling
ARI’s accident and emergency department have been clear to the public they have been struggling for weeks.
On September 26, they warned patients of “extremely long waits”, and asked patients to only attend if their condition was “life-threatening”.
What does NHS Grampian say?
A spokeswoman for NHS Grampian said: “Since early August we have consistently seen more than 1,000 people a week come to the emergency department at ARI.
“Our current performance against the four-hour target not only reflects how busy the emergency department is, but how busy all of ARI is.
“Where people require admission, we need to find an appropriate bed for them. If one is not immediately available, then movement through the emergency department is slowed.
“We will continue to prioritise those who are most seriously unwell for treatment”.
NHS Grampian again asked patients to please attend the GP or phone NHS to reduce demand.
Labour criticises SNP management
Scottish Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said: “The SNP once had a target that 95% of patients would be seen within four hours – now they are not even meeting it for people who have been waiting a shocking 12 hours.
“This is an NHS in deadly freefall due to the incompetence of Humza Yousaf.
“Rather than take action to end this crisis, Humza Yousaf would rather avoid scrutiny and turn his back on frontline NHS staff, who work incredibly hard to keep us safe.
“Years of SNP cuts and neglect have left our NHS unprepared for the level of demand it now faces.
What does Humza Yousaf say?
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “A&E departments are working under significant pressure and, in common with healthcare systems in the UK and globally, the pandemic continues to affect services.
“Recovery from the pandemic will not happen overnight and we are working with boards on measures to reduce pressure as we enter what will be a challenging winter period.
“We are recruiting 1,000 new NHS staff, including 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.
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