Cole-Hamilton: SNP have had their fingers in their ears over A&E wait times

Responding to new figures showing only 63.5% were seen within 4 hours at A&E in the week ending 19th November and 13.1% waiting over 8 hours, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

"Perhaps the worst aspect of the ever worsening wait times in our A&E departments is that it is the grimly predictable consequence of this SNP government not focussing on the right things.

"We have been warning for months that Humza Yousaf's NHS recovery plan is not fit for purpose and that new action needs to be taken now, but ministers have had their fingers in their ears. We need a health secretary who is laser focused on the day job and will put the voices of staff first.

"That means overhauling Humza Yousaf's botched NHS recovery plan, bringing forward an urgent inquiry into the hundreds of avoidable deaths linked to the emergency care crisis and implementing measures which will meaningfully tackle burnout among staff.”