Most elective surgeries at the Royal Alexandra Hospital (RAH) have been cancelled as fears grow for people waiting longer and in pain for medical assistance.
Hip and knee replacements at the Paisley hospital have been cancelled alongside some other operations as Covid-19 continues to pile pressure on struggling services.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has confirmed that increased demand for health care, together with the continuing impact of the pandemic, means operations at the Paisley hospital must be scaled back.
Only urgent operations, cancer treatments and diagnostic procedures will be carried out until the situation improves.
It is understood the move will allow surgical staff to support other wards struggling with reduced medics and an increasing number of patients.
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Paisley-based MSP Neil Bibby says while the move will protect frontline services, many will be left to wait longer and in pain.
The Labour MSP for West Scotland said: “Nicola Sturgeon used to say that having 84,000 people on NHS waiting lists was a humiliation.
“There are now half a million people on NHS Scotland waiting lists and the cancellation of these elective surgery appointments means that many of them will have to wait longer, sometimes in real pain, before they get the surgery they need.
“This will news will be concerning for local people awaiting elective treatment.”
He added: “It is clear that the NHS is in distress right now and the uncomfortable truth for the Scottish Government is that it was in distress before the pandemic struck.
“Now, on top of the covid crisis and an enormous backlog of non-covid cases, the NHS faces the return of seasonal pressures and winter flu.
“There is a perfect storm ahead and it’s time the Scottish Government raised their game.
“Hard-working NHS staff have given us their all over these past 18 months and they deserve the very best from the Scottish Government.”
The decision to cancel elective procedures comes just days after the Express revealed that staff absence - as a result of covid and annual leave - was putting pressure on the RAH which had recently seen demand return pre-pandemic levels.
Throughout August the hospital’s A&E department frequently missed its target to see, admit, transfer or discharge patients within the recommended four hour time frame.
In the week ending August 1, only 68 per cent of attendees received treatment on time; the Scottish Government target is 95 per cent.
A four-year high, the waiting times are the worst recorded since the winter of 2017.
A spokeswoman for NHSGGC said: “The rising numbers of covid cases in the community, impacting on hospital admissions and staff absences, are creating significant pressures within our hospitals.
“We have therefore agreed to postpone some elective surgery that was due to take place at our hospitals, including the Royal Alexandra Hospital.
“Cancer and very urgent cases will continue, as well as diagnostics.
“Cancelled operations included hip and knee replacements and we have contacted those patients affected to apologise.”
She added: “This is not a decision that was taken lightly, but postponing some surgery for a period in a planned way will ensure that emergency and very urgent patients will receive the service they require.
“We would like to apologise to anyone who has had a procedure postponed as a result of the current situation.”
