Miles Briggs deplores ‘horrifying’ A&E waiting times in NHS Lothian

Scottish Conservative and Unionist MSP for Lothian Miles Briggs has accused the SNP of presiding over “horrifying” A&E waiting times in Lothian.

Mr. Briggs’ remarks come after monthly A&E waiting times for November showed that only 58.5% of patients across Lothian were seen within the SNP’s four-hour target waiting time.

In the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, the figure is at a shockingly low 44.1%.

This was below the average for Scotland which sits at 65.8%.

The SNP’s own target is for 95% of patients to be seen within that time after arriving at A&E.

Lothian MSP Miles Briggs says these waits are “unacceptable” and “undoubtedly put lives at risk” and insists that the SNP have failed to give dedicated staff the resources they need to see patients quickly enough.

Mr. Briggs says that the SNP’s failures mean A&E services in Lothian are in “permanent crisis” mode and that this could “spiral out of control” over winter.

Mr. Briggs has urged SNP health secretary Neil Gray to come up with a proper plan for the health service, which ensures money gets to the frontline, rather than being wasted on pointless bureaucracy.

Scottish Conservative and Unionist MSP Miles Briggs said: “A&E waiting times in Lothian are absolutely horrifying, and this is mirrored across Scotland.

“Far too many patients are waiting too long to be seen in Lothian and that undoubtedly puts lives at risk.

“These waits are unacceptable and successive SNP health secretaries have left Lothian and the rest of Scotland without the resources to meet the demands of patients turning up in A&E.

“My constituents in Lothian are at even greater risk than other Scots – and the buck stops with the SNP government.

“A&E departments are in permanent crisis mode and as winter continues there is a real danger the waits will spiral out of control.

“These waiting times must finally be the wake-up call for Neil Gray to deliver a proper plan to support Scotland’s NHS.

“This must prioritise getting money to the frontline in Lothian and across Scotland rather than being wasted on pointless bureaucracy.”