Wishaw hospital’s A&E department saw a significant rise in the number of patients in the past month despite the coronavirus lockdown.
Official figures released by the NHS showed that the number of admissions has risen steadily over the past month with over 3,500 patients being seen.
For the week ending May 3, 1,078 people attended A&E with 93.5 per cent being seen within four hours. The Scottish Government target is 95 per cent.
That compares to 810 admissions at Monklands and 698 at Hairmyres.
The week before, ending on April 26, Wishaw had 951 admissions with 94.6 per cent being seen within the target.
In the previous two weeks, on April 19 and April 12, 785 and 710 patients attended at Wishaw respectively.
The week before lockdown, ending on March 15, a total of 1261 patients appeared at A&E with only 87.2 per cent of patients being seen within four hours.
Earlier this month, a new campaign was launched to encourage Wishaw residents to seek medical help for health issues which are not related to coronavirus (COVID-19).
Figures indicate patients are delaying going to their GP surgery or A&E during the pandemic, that there has been a drop in urgent suspected cancer referrals, and a reduction in families bringing children for immunisation.
The ‘NHS is Open’ campaign urges people to contact their GP practice, call 111 out-of-hours or 999 for an emergency.
NHS Lanarkshire chief executive Calum Campbell said: “NHS Lanarkshire is open and it is safe. We have had to change how we deliver services and your appointments may feel a bit different – these may now be phone calls or video consultations. But if people need to be seen face-to-face, then it will still happen.”
