Sturgeon urged to sack Health Secretary over A&E waits
Both the Conservatives and Labour called on the First Minister to dismiss Mr Yousaf
Nicola Sturgeon is facing fresh calls to sack her Health Secretary Humza Yousaf - with Tories claiming that more than 56,000 Scots have spent at least half a day in accident and emergency since he was given the job.
Both the Conservatives and Labour called on the First Minister to dismiss Mr Yousaf, who has come under fire as the NHS in Scotland struggles to meet waiting time targets.
Scottish Conservative analysis found that 56,228 patients had spent at least 12 hours waiting to be seen in A&E since Mr Yousaf became Health Secretary following the May 2021 Holyrood election.
In his first week in the post, 113 patients had to wait half a day or more, the Tories said.
However, they added in the week ending December 4 2022 a total of 1,276 patients spent at least 12 hours the emergency room.
The Scottish Government's target is that 95% of patients in A&E should be treated and either admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours.
Meanwhile, Scottish Labour calculated that between January and October 2022 a total of 42,100 Scots spent more than 12 hours in A&E
That compares with 13,229 patients in the whole of 2021, Labour said, and was almost 10 times higher than the total for 2020, when 4,266 were waiting for 12 hours or more.
The Tories accused Mr Yousaf of "presiding over complete chaos in our A&E departments", while Labour claimed A&E services have been "plunged into a deadly freefall by Humza Yousaf's dangerous negligence".
Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said: "Everyone knows Humza Yousaf is presiding over complete chaos in our A&E departments, but this exposes just how catastrophic his tenure has been.
"He has long given up on hitting the four-hour waiting time target, but now we see the staggering rise in patients waiting half a day or more on his watch."
Hitting out at the Health Secretary, Dr Gulhane added: "His lack of leadership and flimsy recovery plans have meant tens of thousands more patients having to languish for a barely believable time in A&E before being seen.
"Humza Yousaf is literally putting more and more lives needlessly on the line. It is utterly disgraceful that almost 1,300 patients waited 12 hours or more in the week ending December 4, compared to just over 100 in his first week as Health Secretary.
"This is further damning evidence of why he must be sacked. He has lost the trust of suffering patients and dedicated staff alike."
"If this horrific evidence doesn't make Nicola Sturgeon sack Humza Yousaf, then I don't know what will. He must go immediately," he added.
Meanwhile, Scottish Labour health spokesperson Jackie Baillie said: "The facts are plain for all to see - Scotland's A&E services have been plunged into a deadly freefall by Humza Yousaf's dangerous negligence.
"Despite the efforts of hardworking staff, the number of patients spending a shocking 12 hours waiting in A&E has soared this year - dwarfing previous years and putting lives at risk."
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "The situation we find ourselves in is the result of pandemic backlogs, Brexit-related staff shortages and increases in winter viruses such as flu which has seen recent a significant rise in the last few weeks - making this winter the most challenging the NHS has ever faced.
"This is of course not unique to Scotland, Scotland's A&E continue to outperform A&E services across the UK.
"Scotland already has record numbers of NHS staff and we are recruiting more staff as part of our £600 million winter plan and £50 million investment is targeting A&E waits through services that allow patients to be treated at home or in the community.
"We know the difficulties staff are facing and want to repeat our thanks to all those working across all health and social care services this winter to make sure people receive the care they need."