I have written to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Humza Yousaf MSP, asking what the Scottish Government is going to do to address the shocking waiting times for A&E services across NHS Forth Valley.
The latest NHS weekly update of emergency department activity and waiting time statistics show that for the week ending 31st October 2021, NHS Forth Valley was reporting only 51.1% of those attending A&E seen within four hours.
Yet again these waiting time figures for NHS Forth Valley are the lowest out of any health board in Scotland – and by quite a margin. Most health boards are consistently achieving 70-90% of attendees seen within four hours, but now only half of patients are seen within four hours at NHS Forth Valley A&E departments. I have to ask why NHS Forth Valley is so much lower and why it is so consistently low.
I asked the Scottish Government back at the start of September when the figure dropped below 60% and the Health Secretary told me he was in daily contact with NHS Forth Valley trying to minimise delays for patients. Well, despite his support, the situations has gotten much worse with NHS Forth Valley consistently the worst in Scotland for patients seen at A&E within the four hour target.
Despite the best efforts, hard work and dedication of all the staff across the NHS services in Forth Valley it is clear more support is needed from the government to allow staff to deliver the services required. Many of our NHS staff feel overwhelmed, overworked and lacking the support they desperately need.
The Scottish Government need to investigate why the situation is getting so much worse specifically across NHS Forth Valley and it must take all necessary steps to get the service back to the standard it should be operating at.
