NHS Forth Valley: Long waits at A&E as people urged only to attend if 'critical emergency'

NHS Forth Valley made the appeal on social media asking people to use alternative health services unless their symptoms were a “critical emergency”.

On Tuesday morning they stated: “There are currently long waiting times in our Emergency Department. So please help us to help you as quickly as possible, by calling NHS 24 first on 111.”

The move came as the latest waiting time figures for A&E units were published by Public Health Scotland. They showed that only 39.7 per cent of people attending the Larbert hospital where seen and subsequently admitted or discharged with the four hour government target. The Scottish figure was 64.1 per cent.

The Scottish Government has said 95 per cent of patients should be seen within the four-hour target.

This week’s figure for FVRH is down slightly on the previous seven days when 46.3 per cent of people were seen within the target time, despite the same number of patients – 1145 – attending both weeks.

The number of patients waiting over four hours was 691 according to the latest statistics, up from 615, with 307 waiting over eight hours which was down from 365. There were 106 people waiting over 12 hours which was almost half the previous week’s highest ever tally of 218.

Following the publication of the figures, Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said the pressures were “driven” by delays in discharging patients from hospital.

“A&E departments are working under significant pressure and, in common with other healthcare systems across the UK and globally, the pandemic continues to impact performance,” he said.

“The pressures experienced by A&E are driven by delays in discharge elsewhere in our hospitals.”

Central Scotland MSP Stephen Kerr said: “It doesn’t bear thinking about how catastrophic winter could be in A&E departments if the Scottish Government does not act.

“As things stand, despite the efforts of NHS workers our health service is lurching deeper and deeper into crisis. I will press the Scottish Government to update their NHS Covid recovery plan as it has clearly failed to support the NHS adequately.”