New figures highlighted by local MSP Jackie Baillie show that the Vale of Leven Hospital continues to outperform the Royal Alexandra Hospital on operations cancelled due to a lack of resources in the NHS.

The full set of figures for 2017 published this week reveals that 127 operations were cancelled by the RAH in Paisley last year due to capacity or non-clinical reasons -; including 25 operations cancelled in December alone.

Only 11 operations were cancelled at the Vale of Leven Hospital last year for similar reasons.

Jackie Baillie said the data shows that the RAH is struggling to cope with demand and that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde should use spare capacity at the Vale of Leven Hospital to treat more patients locally.

Today’s figures also reveal that a quarter of patients attending A&E at the RAH in December had to wait more than four hours. In the same month over 92% of local patients at the Minor Injuries Unit in the Vale of Leven were seen within four hours.

Jackie said:

“These figures are a testament to the hard work and dedication of our NHS doctors and nurses at the Vale of Leven Hospital. When local patients are lucky enough to be referred to the Vale rather than the RAH they are more likely to avoid being told that their procedure is cancelled, often at the last minute, due to a lack of resources.

“The pressure on NHS services in Paisley is simply unsustainable. Too many local patients are still referred to the RAH for treatment when we should be making the most of the spare capacity available at the Vale of Leven Hospital.

“Investing in the facilities at the Vale of Leven Hospital and using the hospital to its full potential would improve services for patients in West Dunbartonshire, Helenbsurgh and Lomond and free up capacity across Greater Glasgow and Clyde.”

<