The NHS is now in year-round crisis, a Lothian MSP has claimed, as latest figures show fewer than half of patients going to Accident and Emergency at Edinburgh’s Royal Infirmary are seen within the four-hour target.
Labour’s Foysol Choudhury said the system had to be properly staffed and resourced and called for better support for healthcare workers.
Statistics released earlier this week by Public Health Scotland showed a record number of patients at Scotland’s A&E departments waiting longer than four hours. A total of 8,993 people across the country had to wait longer than the target in the week up to June 26.
“Speaking to staff from NHS Lothian, they too often feel the stress of the pressures on the NHS. They are increasingly being abused at work by patients frustrated at long waiting times, and staff absences are being kept high by repeated waves of Covid. The Scottish Government must better support NHS staff to defuse the building crisis of morale among our healthcare workers.
Want to see more SNP fails? – Transport Matters
