Recent NHS statistics show that Ayrshire’s A&Es are underperforming – and MSP Katy Clark says the Scottish Government needs to take action.

According to the NHS, as of the week ending November 22 65.3 per cent of patients under NHS Ayrshire and Arran were seen within four hours - which is 29.7 per cent under the 95 per cent target set by the Scottish Government.

Katy Clark, Scottish Labour MSP for West Scotland, said: “This is the worst crisis in the NHS in the history of devolution.

“These delays are not the fault of NHS staff, who are working tirelessly on long shifts with reduced staff levels and despite poor morale in many parts of the service.

“It is a lack of resources that is putting the public at risk. Further delays to referrals and treatments could lead to the NHS completely collapsing entirely, both in Ayrshire and across Scotland.

“The Scottish Government needs to come forward with nothing less than an emergency plan to ensure funding, staffing and resources meet demand this Winter and beyond.”

Wait times in Ayrshire’s A&E departments – and across Scotland - have been rising since the introduction of Covid-19 to the UK in 2020 but levels have yet to recover.

Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “Pandemic backlogs, Brexit-driven staff shortages, and inflation costs have all contributed to make this the most challenging winter the NHS has ever faced.

“In addition, the level of delayed discharge is driving up A&E waits, which is why we are working with Health Boards to ensure people leave hospital without delay, freeing up vital beds for those who need them most.

“We will continue to see fluctuations in figures over winter, despite this, I am clear that A&E performance is not where it needs to be.

“This week we have seen improvement in performance over 4 hours despite increased attendances. We have also seen a drop in the number of people waiting longer than 8 hours in A&E.”

“Our £600 million winter plan will see us recruit 1,000 new NHS staff and our £50 million Urgent and Unscheduled Care Collaborative looks to drive down A&E waits through, Hospital at Home and our Out-patient Antimicrobial Therapy service which allows patients to be treated at home or in the community.”

Mr Yousaf also encouraged the public to use Flow Navigation Centres – a system which directs people towards appropriate urgent care and allows patients to schedule in person, phone, or video appointments.

NHS Ayrshire and Arran issued an apology for the wait times, citing high numbers of patients visiting A&E as the cause of the delays.

NHS Ayrshire and Arran’s Chief Executive Claire Burden said: “We are currently experiencing extremely high demand for our unscheduled care services and are implementing the appropriate business continuity processes.

“Despite our staff working hard to assess and treat patients as quickly as possible, some patients have waited significantly longer than we would wish and we unreservedly apologise for that.”

The chief executive also acknowledged the hard work of their staff members and thanked patients for their understanding.