Waiting times at Ayrshire’s Accident and Emergency departments have improved slightly, figures show.
According to Public Health Scotland, 67 per cent of patients who presented at a local A&E were seen within the four hour target.
Although that figure is way short of the Scottish Government’s target of 95 per cent, it’s an improvement on the previous figure of 60 per cent.
The figures are based on the week ending Sunday, January 22.
However, the figures also show that 254 patients waited more than eight hours before being admitted to hospital, transferred or discharged.
And a further 159 patients faced waits of more than 12 hours during the reporting period.
South Scotland Labour List MSP, Colin Smyth, said the figures will be 'cold comfort' to those still facing significant delays to their treatment.
He said : “These figures are an improvement on the dismal winter A&E stats, but the fact remains that our NHS is in crisis with thousands waiting too long for treatment.
“The Scottish Government must end delayed discharge, which causes capacity problems with a lack of available beds, and stop this crisis once and for all.
“They must also invest further in primary care and tackle illnesses before they get serious.”
Brian Whittle, South Scotland Conservative List MSP, said: “The Scottish Conservatives have already set out a range of steps the Scottish Government could take to help the NHS recover but the SNP continue to defend their failing approach. Humza Yousaf and the SNP need to wake-up and accept that their plans aren’t working.”
Sharon Dowey, South Scotland Conservative List MSP, added: “Once again, the latest figures on A&E waiting times are completely unacceptable. I can’t see how things are to improve without significant support from the Health Secretary.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said they have seen “decreases” in patients waiting longer than 8 and 12 hours for treatment despite “continued pressure” with waits of over 8 hours waits decreasing by more than 60 per cent since the recent winter peak and 12 hour waits going down by over 66 per cent.
The spokesperson continued: “We will continue to see fluctuations in figures over winter, however, weekly performance over 4 hours is the best we have seen in 8 months and recent progress is down to the hard work of our NHS staff and we are grateful for their continued exceptional efforts.
“Addressing delayed discharge remains of critical importance and we are encouraged to see things moving in the right direction with a reduction of 7 per cent in delayed discharge between November and December 2022.”
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