In the Daily Record today:
New figures show that 45 per cent of patients who presented at University Hospital Ayr’s A&E faced waits longer than the four-hour standard. South Scotland Conservative List MSP, Sharon Dowey, said the figures were “extremely worrying.”
Dowey looks less than worried, I’d say. May be that’s because she knows the context?
First, they’re using one-week statistically unreliable data.
Over the month of December 2022, the University Hospital in Ayr, saw 61.3% in 4 hours. The figure for Scotland as a whole was 59.6%.
For NHS England, managed by Dowey’s party, it was only 49.6%.
61.3% is 23.58% better than 49.6%.
Sources:
Talking-up Scotland 
WHY OH WHY DO TORIES CONTINUE TO LIE
IS THIS A BIRTH DEFECT OR JUST CORRUPT TOFFS
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I think it is well-established that waiting times for A&E have increased and, on present trends are likely to increase further. This pattern is evident in all parts of the UK, but the data for Scotland are comparatively better than elsewhere. This is not something to be smug or complacent about, but it is important to point it out, as this site does, not just to reassure the public, but also to counter the persistent shouting by the Scottish media that it is ‘THE WORST”, as in “The worst the figures have been since records began”.
What the Scottish media and the opposition politicians are failing to do is to examine the causes of the decline in services – Brexit, austerity and its malign effects over 13 years, Covid, growth in demand for health services because of increased longevity – and to discuss how these things can be inproved, including a reorganisation of aspects of NHS organisation.
But, for them blaming is an end in itself and, in any case, it is much easier to select bad data and run it week after week like “The Matrix reloaded”. They are also owned by wealthy organisations who have a vested interest in increasing privatisation of health services (i.e. the bits that can be done cheaply, quickly and bring large profits) and many politicians move into privatised health services.
I have used the A&E in the past fortnight – I had an epistaxis (a nose bleed that is difficult to staunch) – and was discharged after just under 5 hours, as opposed to within 4 hours on the several previous occasions in the past 15 years. I had been triaged within 10 minutes of arrival at A&E and, at that time, about 2.5 hours after bleeding started, the blood had started to clot. So, it is likely that this was a factor in the time I waited within the department without being seen. In fact bleeding had stopped entirely within 1/2 hour of triage. While waiting, I sneezed several times which did not cause further bleeding. But, on the occasions I did a nurse appeared within seconds to check on me. The actual examination and consultation, when I saw a consultant took about 5 minutes.
Despite the media horror stories of chaos, my impression was of calm orderliness with staff going about their duties calmly and showing compassion. Patients were examined thoroughly. It was obvious from overheard conversations that a fair proportion of those presenting at A&E were because they had found it difficult to get GP appointments and had begun to panic.
Of course, GP appointments since Covid have been less easy to obtain, but they situation is not as dire as the media exaggeration implies. GPs, too, are having to operate triage systems and are still affected by Covid and other seasonal respiratory cases. Again, this system requires review and change.
I have used my local pharmacy on several occasions in the past 10 years and services like NHS 24.
I am not claiming things are perfect, but in the experience of my wife and friends and neighbours things are not as bad as the media claim. We do need reorganisation, but let us do it in a calm and considered way and that includes recognising and giving praise to the things which are going well.
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Spotted the Broken Record typo – They inserted “, said the figures were” instead of an “is” which would more accurately have informed Ayrshire folks, ” Conservative List MSP, Sharon Dowey is “extremely worrying.” “
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