NHS Forth Valley: Long A&E waits continue for some at FVRH in Larbert

Latest figures show only 44.2 per cent of the 1121 patients who turned up at the Larbert unit were seen in the timescale set out by the Scottish government for patients to be seen, treated and admitted, discharged or transferred.

This is a marginal improvement on the previous week when the figure was 43.1 per cent but is down from earlier in the year.

Of the 621 who waited over four hours, 326 had to wait over eight hours and 140 of them were still waiting to be dealt with after 12 hours.

Falkirk West’s MSP Michael Matheson who took over as Health Secretary last week in the Humza Yousaf’s cabinet reshuffle, admitted there was still “significant pressure” on serivces.

He said: “Hospital bed occupancy continues to be a major factor impacting performance. We are increasing NHS 24 staffing and providing up to £8 million to boards to help alleviate pressure from delayed discharge.

“As part of our nationwide approach, patients who no longer need to be in hospital are being urgently reassessed and those clinically safe to be discharged will be safely moved home or to an interim placement in a care home – freeing up beds for those most in need.”

Apologising for the long waits, an NHS Forth Valley spokesperson said: “Forth Valley Royal Hospital, like many hospitals across Scotland, continues to face capacity challenges with many seriously ill patients requiring admission for treatment along with high numbers of patients experiencing delays in being discharged. This impacts on our performance against the four-hour emergency access standard. However, good progress is being made in reducing the number of patients experiencing very long waits and staff in our HSCPs and acute services are continuing to work together to reduce the number of patients experiencing delayed in being discharged from hospital or transferred to a local community hospital or care home.

“We would like to apologise to any patients who have experienced longer waits and staff are doing everything possible to reduce delays. Patients with more serious illnesses and injuries who require urgent care continue to be prioritised.