John Swinney apologises to former policeman left to lie on floor in A&E for hours

John Swinney has been accused of allowing the NHS to descend into "deadly chaos" over winter, with one pensioner forced to lie on the floor for hours in A&E.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said the First Minister had buried his head in the sand despite being warned about a looming crisis in the health service.

He raised the case of a retired policeman called Robert from Lanarkshire, who had to “lie on the floor in excruciating pain for five-and-a-half hours” when he attended A&E at Wishaw over Christmas due to crippling abdominal pain.

Mr Swinney apologised to Robert and his family, and said rising flu cases meant hospital demand had been “colossal” over recent weeks.

John Swinney | Jane Barlow/PA Wire

Speaking during First Minister’s Questions in Holyrood, Mr Sarwar said a nurse had told Robert’s family that one patient had been waiting more than 50 hours for a bed.

"On John Swinney's watch, Scots who have worked all their lives, like Robert, are forced to endure such painful, dangerous and humiliating circumstances,” the Scottish Labour leader said.

He quoted Robert’s daughter, who said: “My dad gave his all for others in his career, now I am genuinely scared the next time something happens he won’t make it through because of the mess the SNP have allowed the NHS to get into. The SNP couldn’t run a bath, let alone the NHS.”

Mr Swinney said hospital admissions as a result of flu more than doubled in the latter half of December. The week ending December 29 saw the highest number of admissions on any given week since 2010.

These have since fallen by 36 per cent, but Mr Swinney said the figures showed the “severity of the crisis that we have seen with flu in our country”.

The First Minister added: “I accept that the pressure on the National Health Service has made the treatment of individuals very challenging and very difficult and people will have not had the type of experience they should have had in hospital care.

“I acknowledge that, I accept it and I make no attempt to deny it.”

Contributed

However, he said: “The level of demand and the pressure on the National Health Service has to be acknowledged, given the scale of the pressure we are facing as a consequence of the flu outbreak we are dealing with.”

He praised NHS staff for their efforts to “do their level best for patients”, but added: “I accept in some circumstances that will not be enough and will not have been good enough for individuals.

“But we have got to acknowledge those two issues, that demand has been colossal for the National Health Service and in addition to that staff have given their all to support individuals like Robert.

“The National Health Service, despite the enormous challenges, has withstood the pressures of the largest level of pressure since 2010 and I thank members of staff for everything they contributed to achieve that objective.”

Mr Sarwar said he had warned of a winter crisis brewing in the NHS back in October, adding: “But instead of taking action to deliver a plan to keep patients and staff safe, the SNP buried their head in the sand, and the result? Deadly chaos.

"Over Christmas, 1,642 people waited over 12 hours in A&E. Ambulances were put on red alert. A flu wave piled even more pressure on our hospitals. And thousands of people waited hours to even get their call answered by NHS 24."

He added: "This is the deadly consequence of John Swinney plunging our NHS into a permanent crisis.”