NHS Forth Valley A&E Waiting Time Figures Yet Again Worst in Scotland

I have written to the Cabinet Secretary for Health Michael Matheson MSP to raise serious concerns about the latest A&E waiting time figures showing NHS Forth Valley is underperforming the rest of Scotland by a significant margin.

The figures, published this week by Public Health Scotland, show that only 47.6% of attendees were seen within four hours for NHS Forth Valley. This is not only the worst figure for any health board in Scotland, but also the only health board with a figure below 50%. On top of the extremely low figures to be seen within the four-hour target, 23.7% waited over eight hours (the worst in Scotland) and 10.2% waited over twelve hours to be seen (also the worst in Scotland).

The pressures being faced by staff across our health and social care services are enormous, and not enough support is being provided by the Scottish Government to alleviate those pressures. Whether that be failures in terms of workforce planning or systemic problems within the health board that are being left unmanaged by government, it is clear the people serviced by NHS Forth Valley, and the staff, are being let down.

The Scottish Government has set a target that 95% of people attending A&E should be seen, admitted, discharged or transferred within four hours. Yet here we have over half of attendees to NHS Forth Valley waiting over four hours, almost a quarter waiting over eight hours and one in ten wating for over twelve hours. Something isn’t right.

I have been raising concerns regarding NHS Forth Valley A&E waiting times for over five years, yet the situation seems to continue to get worse. The Scottish Government need to get a grip on this matter, the previous Health Secretary is now First Minister, yet no action seems to have been taken and more and more people are being let down. We need to address why this specific health board is underperforming so drastically compared with all others in Scotland, and so consistently recording some of the lowest figures for A&E waiting times in Scotland.

It is time SNP Ministers took their heads out the sand and owned up to the problems staring them in the face here. Until, they do and take the necessary action, the people using these services and the staff themselves are just going to continue to be let down.

—

Link to Public Health Scotland figures: https://publichealthscotland.scot/media/20641/2023-07-11-ed-weekly-attendance-and-waiting-times.xlsx