Statistics released by Public Health Scotland revealed over 5,000 Lanarkshire patients waited more than four hours in Accident & Emergency departments in Wishaw, Hairmyres and Monklands hospitals in the space of three weeks.
Hard working staff at Lanarkshire’s three A&E departments have endured a tough start to 2026.
Statistics released by Public Health Scotland revealed over 5,000 Lanarkshire patients waited more than four hours in Accident & Emergency departments in Wishaw, Hairmyres and Monklands hospitals in the space of three weeks.
The Scottish Government aims to ensure 95% of people are seen within that time – a target which has not been hit since the early months of the pandemic.
For the week ending January 18, just 47.4 per cent of patients at Hairmyres were seen within the four hour target.
That number was 56.3 per cent at Monklands and 58.1 per cent at Wishaw.
Health Secretary, and Airdrie & Shotts MSP, Neil Gray said: “Our A&E departments are facing sustained pressures, including boards reporting high levels of hospital occupancy impacting on patient flow and leading to delays at the front door.
“This situation is not unique to Scotland, with all other UK nations experiencing similar pressures, but I am working closely with our health boards to make sure improvements are made quickly and effectively.
“To support winter activity, we are providing up to £20 million to fund increased social care and reduce pressure on the hospital front door, to make sure people get the right care in the right place.
“This includes funding for care at home and extra staffing to support emergency departments.”
For the week ending January 11, 50.6 per cent of patients at Wishaw were seen within the four hour target. It was the only hospital in Lanarkshire to hit more than 50 per cent.
The number was 47.9 per cent for Monklands and just 40.8 per cent at Hairmyres.
For the week ending January 4, Wishaw once again had 50.6 per cent of patients seen the within the four hour target.
That number dropped to 45.9 per cent for Monklands and 42.3 per cent for Hairmyres.
For those three weeks, a total of 5447 patients endured a wait of more than four hours in A&E.
Of those who attended A&E in the most recent week in Scotland, 8.5 per cent waited longer than 12 hours – down from 10.7 per cent – while 16.3 per cent waited more than eight hours, a reduction from 19.2 per cent.
Scottish Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said: “These horrific waiting times expose an NHS teetering on the brink after decades of SNP mismanagement.
“These aren’t abstract statistics – they’re real people whose lives are being put at risk, and in some cases needlessly lost, because they are stuck in overcrowded emergency departments for hours on end.
“Frontline staff are knocking their pan in for patients, but they’ve been failed by (former health secretary) Humza Yousaf’s flimsy recovery plan and years of dire SNP workforce planning.”
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said the NHS is “stuck in a state of permanent crisis”.
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He added: “Waiting times have remained extreme for years now, and half-day waits have gone from a rarity to a common occurrence.
“A&E departments are backed up because there are so many people who are stuck in hospital and unable to leave because the care package they need is not available.
“You cannot fix the NHS and bring down A&E waits without fixing social care.”
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