Forth Valley A&E pre-Christmas waiting times revealed as worst in Scotland amid calls for action

dailyrecord.co.uk:

The region’s under-fire hospital has reported the worst accident and emergency waiting time figures in Scotland – with only 38 per cent of patients seen within four hours.The Scottish Government target is for patients attending A&E to be admitted, transferred or discharged in that timescale.But according to the latest Public Health Scotland data for the period up to December 18, NHS Forth Valley had the poorest performance across all of the country’s health boards.A total of 1,104 patients reported to the emergency unit at Forth Valley Royal for the period covered by the statistics - and Forth Valley’s performance slipped behind even the national standard of 55 per cent.An NHS Forth Valley spokeswoman said the four-hour period included time for patients to be assessed and confirmed they may start tests or undergo treatment during that wait.The spokeswoman added: “Winter is always a very busy time for the NHS, but this year we are experiencing unprecedented pressures due to exceptionally high demand across local hospital, community and primary care services.“We are also seeing high numbers of seriously-ill patients who require to be admitted to hospital as well as many patients who are experiencing delays in being discharged because they require a package of care, further rehabilitation support or are waiting for a place in a local care home.“As a result, some patients have had to wait for longer periods of time in the Emergency Department until an inpatient bed becomes available.“Staff continue to do everything possible to support patient care, use alternatives to hospital admission and minimise delays in transferring patients to inpatient wards and assessment areas.”Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Alexander Stewart criticised