25% of A&E patients at Glasgow super hospital waited more than four hours for care

A quarter of patients had to wait more than four hours to be seen in the accident and emergency department at Scotland's flagship hospital.

NHS figures show that over the last week in April, the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow only managed to deal with 75% of A&E patients within the four-hour target waiting time.

Liberal Democrats said that was the worst performance since the £842 million facility opened in 2015.

The statistics show that in the week ending April 30, 91.3% of A&E patients across Scotland were seen and either admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours - below the Scottish Government's interim target of 95%.

There were 223 patients who spent more than eight hours in an emergency department, with 45 waiting more than 12 hours.

Across the NHS Forth Valley area, more than a fifth of A&E patients waited more than four hours, with 78.4% of cases dealt with in the target time.

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Alex Cole-Hamilton said: "It is clear from these new statistics that emergency departments across Scotland are really struggling to meet demand.

"At the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital alone almost 500 patients waited longer than four hours to be dealt with. It has struggled to meet this target from day one and staff and patients will be frustrated that there is little sign of this changing.

"The facilities and dedication of the staff at the QEUH are first class but, as the Royal College of Nursing warned last week, services are under 'real strain'.

"Instead of focusing on another divisive independence referendum, SNP ministers should tell staff and patients at this hospital and others on the front-line across Scotland when they will finally deliver the support and resources they so desperately need."

A spokesperson for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde told Clyde News: "We are fully committed to ensuring that patients are seen, treated and either admitted or discharged as quickly as possible.

"Performance figures for emergency departments, by their nature, will always fluctuate on a day to day, and even week to week, basis.

"However, the majority of patients were seen, assessed, treated and either admitted or discharge within the four hour target. Most of those patients who did not meet the four hour target were either admitted or discharged shortly thereafter.

"We apologise to those patients who waited longer than this. However, medical attention will always be clinically prioritised for those who most urgently require it

"All our emergency departments have seen an increased number of patients coming to our emergency departments and requiring hospital admission, including the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

"Our frontline teams are working hard to deliver high levels of patient care with only a small percentage not being seen, treated and discharged or admitted within four hours.

"We still have work to do, however our staff have been working incredibly hard putting in new measures to ensure we continue to head in the right direction.

"To help us manage the seasonal increase in demand, we ran a media campaign urging those with minor injuries to attend our dedicated Minor Injury Units (MIUs) where their injuries can be more appropriately, and quickly, treated and we are exceeding the 98% target.

"We are also trialling a new system where Consultant staff review patients as soon as they arrive and direct them to other forms of care if they do not need to be seen in the emergency department.

"Improving emergency department performance remains a key focus for the Board. We are carrying out comprehensive review of unscheduled care, headed up by Deputy Medical Director, Dr David Stewart."