Murdo has hit out at Health Minister Humza Yousaf by saying he has let A&E waiting times in Fife “get out of control.”
He was commenting on the release of the latest statistics by Public Health Scotland, which reveal that in the week ending March 10, only 62.2% of A&E patients at Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy, were seen within the target of four hours – 12.1% worse than the previous week (74.1% in week ending March 3).
The overall picture in Scotland can be summed up by only 66.2% of attendees at the country’s A&E departments being seen within four hours, according to the figures.
Commenting, Murdo Fraser MSP said: “The latest figures on the A&E waiting times for Fife are a real concern and follow a downward spiral since January 2021. It is clear that the country’s A&E service is on its knees and the Health Minister has allowed this to situation to get out of control under his watch.
“Instead, what we see is his flimsy Covid Recovery Plan, which simply isn’t good enough.”
Murdo continued: “Looking at the figures for NHS Fife over the last five weeks, it is clear that action needs to be taken. The best statistics for A&E patients in Fife being seen within the four-hour target during this period was for the week ending March 13, when it was 74.5% - that is alarming. These figures are totally unacceptable, and the Health Minister should take note of them, instead of making excuses which frankly don’t wash with patients in Fife and across Scotland.
“Matters have been made worse due to the SNP Government’s abysmal workforce planning for our hospitals. Patients in Fife – and beyond - deserve better than this.”
