Highlands and Islands MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston has commented on the latest figures for A&E waiting times in the NHS Highland health board region.
The Scottish Conservative MSP said:
“While 86.3% of people in the NHS Highland region being seen within four hours at Accident and Emergency departments is higher than the national average, that figure is still considerably short of the Scottish Government’s own target of 95%."
“And we also have to bear in mind the greater travelling times in the Highlands compared to other parts of Scotland, with people often having had to take even longer to actually get to a hospital in the first place."
“There is real pressure on many of our hospitals – and wider health services – and SNP ministers can’t just rely on pushing already hard-pressed health staff to work harder."
“The Scottish Conservatives want to see a one-off £600 million investment in our NHS to specifically tackle waiting times, ensuring more people are seen quicker and the experience of people requiring treatment improved."
“SNP Ministers should consider backing our plans, as well as looking at the self-isolation rules for fully vaccinated NHS staff to reduce the risk of key departments within our hospitals being left under-resourced”.
The latest figures are available here:
