A&E MELTDOWN UNDER SNP

Anas Sarwar – Labour 

Scotland’s A&E services are enduring a winter meltdown under the SNP, Scottish Labour has said.

New figures show almost 20 per cent of patients were not dealt with within the four-hour standard last week.

At the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, almost half of A&E patients had to wait longer than four-hours, while a total of 24 hospitals failed to meet the standard.

Scottish Labour said the figures showed the scale of the SNP’s mismanagement of the NHS – and called for an urgent investigation.

Scottish Labour’s health spokesperson Anas Sarwar MSP said:

“These figures are a disgrace and will cause real concern to patients and families across Scotland.

“Our doctors and nurses do fantastic work, but they have been left over-worked, under-valued and under-resourced by this SNP government.

“More than 20 hospitals failed to hit the A&E target last week, leaving hundreds of patients stranded in hospitals for more than four hours.

“These figures are sadly not a one off – this has been a regular occurrence this winter. It is now clear Scotland is facing an A&E winter meltdown under the SNP.

“Scottish Labour would use the powers of the Scottish Parliament to ensure we have a health service that works for the many, not the few.”

Commenting specifically on the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Mr Sarwar added:

“Across the country, A&E waiting times are appalling, but the situation at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh is particularly concerning.

“Something has clearly gone very wrong to have almost 50 per cent of patients waiting longer than four hours. This is not an anomaly – the A&E performance at this hospital has been declining for a number of weeks.

“The SNP government has taken special measures at other hospitals when the situation has not even been this bad.

“Last week, Scottish Labour called on SNP Health Secretary Shona Robison to urgently investigate what is going wrong at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and fix it.

“So far, she has refused to do so. She must now immediately launch an investigation into these figures, or publicly explain why she will not.”

Notes:

Main points During the week ending 17 December 2017:

● There were 29,054 attendances at Emergency Departments across Scotland.

● 81.1% of people attending Emergency Departments were seen and subsequently admitted, transferred or discharged within 4 hours.

● 783 (2.7%) patients spent more than 8 hours in an Emergency Department.

● 241 (0.8%) patients spent more than 12 hours in an Emergency Department.

 

Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh at Little France	53.2%
Forth Valley Royal Hospital	64.1%
Hairmyres Hospital	69.0%
Queen Elizabeth University Hospital	69.1%
St John’s Hospital	74.0%
Royal Alexandra Hospital	75.4%
Glasgow Royal Infirmary	80.4%
Victoria Hospital	85.4%
Wishaw General Hospital	85.7%
Aberdeen Royal Infirmary	86.4%
Inverclyde Royal Hospital	86.5%
Dumfries & Galloway Royal Infirmary	87.3%
Borders General Hospital	88.5%
Ninewells Hospital	89.4%
University Hospital Crosshouse	91.2%
Royal Hospital for Children	91.2%
Monklands District General Hospital	91.7%
Perth Royal Infirmary	91.7%
Raigmore Hospital	92.3%
Galloway Community Hospital	92.4%
Gilbert Bain Hospital	92.9%
Belford Hospital	94.1%
University Hospital Ayr	94.5%
Dr Gray’s Hospital	94.7%
Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital	96.8%
Western Isles Hospital	96.8%
Royal Hospital for Sick Children (Edinburgh)	97.6%
Balfour Hospital	97.7%
Caithness General Hospital	98.1%
Lorn & Islands Hospital	99.2%
NHS Scotland	81.1%

 

SMALL FIRMS HELD BACK AS SNP LATE TO PAY THE BILLS

Jackie Baillie – Labour

The SNP government’s record of paying bills on time is getting worse, with almost 1 in 4 bills not paid on time.

SNP Finance Secretary Derek Mackay has admitted that almost a quarter of undisputed invoices were not paid on time by the Scottish Government and the bodies which share its finance system between April and October this year. The number of undisputed invoices paid within five days has fallen from 81 per cent in 2011/12.

Labour said late payments have a major knock-on effect for firms that need the cash flow to keep trading.

The SNP government’s Business Pledge scheme, designed to encourage the private sector towards ethical business practices, includes a ‘prompt payment’ criteria.

Labour’s manifesto for the 2017 General Election pledged to declare war on late payments by using government procurement contracts to ensure that anyone bidding for a government contract pays its own suppliers within 30 days.

It also pledged to develop a version of the Australian system of binding arbitration and fines for persistent late-payers for the private and public sectors.

Labour Shadow Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Jackie Baillie said:

“Late payments can stop our small businesses from growing, and it is simply ridiculous that the Scottish Government is so bad at it, with nearly one in four bills not being paid on time.

“This has a real knock on effect for small and medium sized enterprises on government contracts which need the cash flow to keep trading.

“The SNP government should set a new target to have 100 per cent of undisputed bills paid within five working days. This would set good practice for business and make sure organisations on government contracts are getting their payments on time.

“Ministers should also ensure no public contract or taxpayer grant goes to a company that fails to pay the bills on time. This is taxpayer money – we should lay down the rules.”

 

NOTES 

4 December 2017

 

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of undisputed invoices to each (a) of its directorates, (b) of its agencies and (c) non-departmental public body was paid within five days in each year since 2011.

Derek Mackay: The Scottish Government does not hold this information broken down by Directorate or agency, nor do we hold this information for non-departmental public bodies. However, we have provided in the following table, combined figures for The Scottish Government and bodies who share its finance system.

Financial Year	Number of undisputed invoices paid within 5 days
2011-12	81.3%
2012-13	79.9%
2013-14	80.3%
2014-15	77.8%
2015-16	79.6%
2016-17	79.6%
2017-18 (April-October)	77.4%

 Source: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx?SearchType=Advance&ReferenceNumbers=S5W-12914&ResultsPerPage=10

SNP CUTS RISK RURAL DISASTER

SNP cuts to the rural services budget risk devastating Scotland’s farming communities, Scottish Labour has warned.

The Nationalists’ budget has slashed funding for services such as vets and animal health by £4 million.

That cut is part of 21.1 per cent – or £10.2 million – cut to the whole rural services budget.

Scottish Labour has warned the proposed cuts could leave rural Scotland and farming businesses more vulnerable to potentially devastating diseases such as foot and mouth.

The cuts follow the SNP’s persistent failures to deliver CAP payments on time, amid an £178million IT foul-up, while the Nationalists have also faced criticism for their failure to properly deliver for rural communities.

Labour Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Connectivity, Colin Smyth said:

“SNP cuts to the rural services budget run the risk of devastating Scotland’s farms.

“Veterinary and animal health services play a vital role in ensuring Scotland’s livestock is healthy and free from disease.

“A cut to this support risks leaving our rural communities vulnerable to potentially devastating diseases such as foot and mouth.

“Even small declines in the health of Scotland’s livestock could damage the already fragile rural economy under the SNP.

“The SNP must reverse these misguided cuts to the rural services budget and ensure Scotland’s rural communities are protected.”

 

NOTES

Table 12.04: Rural Services Spending Plans (pp 155, Rural Economy and Connectivity)

 

	2017-18 Budget £m	2018-19 Draft Budget £m	Cut in cash terms (£m)
Rural cohesion	£1.0	£0.6	£0.4m
Agri and horti advice and support	£9.5	£4.4	£5.1 m
Veterinary surveillance	£5.2	£4.2	£1m
Animal health	£18.2	£15.2	£3m
Food industry support	£6	£5	£1m
Fisheries grants	£14.2	£14.1	£1m
Total cut to Rural services budget	£40.8	£32.2	£10.2 m