Dismay as new figures show 214 patients wait more than 12 hours at Ayrshire A&E departments

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A total of 214 patients endured waiting times of more than 12 hours when they attended an NHS Ayrshire & Arran emergency department, new figures show.

And a further 332 faced waits of more than eight hours over the same reporting period.The figures come from Public Health Scotland from the week ending Sunday, October 2.These latest figures also show than just 65.7 per cent of patients who attended an A&E that week were either admitted, transferred or discharged within the four hour standard.The Scottish Government’s current target is for 95 per cent of patients to be dealt with within four hours.South Scotland Labour List MSP Colin Smyth said: “The Scottish Government once had a target that 95 per cent of patients would be seen within four hours but that seems to be a thing of the past.“Rather than take action to end this crisis, Health Secretary Humza Yousaf would rather avoid scrutiny and turn his back on frontline NHS staff, who work incredibly hard to keep us safe.“Years of cuts and neglect have left our NHS unprepared for the level of demand it now faces.“With industrial action looming we are facing a humanitarian crisis in the NHS this winter.“It’s time for the Scottish Government to get to grips with this crisis once and for all.”Health Secretary Humza Yousaf recently set out proposed measures to ease the NHS crisis by treating patients at home and recruiting staff from overseas.He said: “Recovery from the pandemic will not happen overnight and we are working with boards on measures to reduce pressure as we enter a challenging winter period.The Ayrshire Live app is available to download now.Get all the local news in your area – plus features, football news and the latest on the coronavirus crisis – at your