Over 4,000 people waited too long at NHS Dumfries and Galloway A&E departments in 2018, new figures reveal.

Data published by the Scottish Government’s Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland reveals that 3,736 people waited more than 4 hours at Accident and Emergency last year, with 370 waiting over 8 hours and 28 waiting over 12 hours.

These figures represent a 6.8% increase in the number of people waiting over 4 hours compared with 2017.

Colin Smyth MSP has said the figures exposed the stress our health service is under, with overworked staff facing crowded A&E departments because of mismanagement elsewhere in the health service – such as staffing vacancies in social care and primary care.

Colin Smyth MSP said;

“Patients and staff in Dumfries and Galloway deserve better than this.  There have been considerable pressure put onto NHS Dumfries and Galloway and these staggering figures expose the scale of the challenge NHS staff face in delivering patient care and how badly they have been let down by years of SNP mismanagement of our NHS.

A&E is the front door of the hospital, and the pulse check of our NHS as a whole. Increasing numbers of people waiting too long at A&E reveals unacceptable pressure in other parts of our health service such as in social care and primary care.

We already know that staff do not feel they are getting enough support and that the level of unfilled health posts is unsustainable. Ministers set the health service targets for staff to hit and then do not deliver the support and resources needed. It simply isn’t good enough.”