Judge Nicola on RAH failures – not the staff

Just ten months ago the Paisley Daily Express was reporting on the crisis in A&E at the RAH. Patients had to spend up to 17 or 18 hours on a trolley in corridors. I saw it with my own eyes when my mother in law had to be admitted. The waiting times targets set by the SNP Government were being missed, week in and week out. Things got so bad a special team had to be sent in to help sort out the mess. We’re now heading back into winter, so can we be sure that last year’s problems won’t be repeated? Well don’t hold your breath. Recent figures from the RAH show that 111 patients at A&E waited over the four hour target. Six had to wait more than eight hours and one had to wait more than 12 hours. And that’s before the worst of the winter kicks in. Nicola Sturgeon promised that 98% of patients at A&E would be seen within four hours. Unbelievably that target hasn’t been met even once since the Government started to publish the weekly figures earlier this year. That’s right. Not even once. And let’s put Nicola’s humbug to bed. Criticising her failings and the failing of her Government is not a criticism of the hard working, overburdened doctors, nurses and auxiliary staff.  They are being run ragged. Nicola Sturgeon said that a Government in its second term needs to be judged on its record. Well it’s time to judge her on the failures to meet A&E targets at the RAH. The fault lies with the Scottish Government, not the staff at the RAH.