THE Scottish Government has been accused of setting waiting time targets it cannot meet after statistics revealed one in four people waited longer than four hours to be seen at a Renfrewshire hospital in the second week of 2019.

Statistics from ISD Scotland showed only 75 per cent of patients who attended the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley that week were seen within the four-hour target time.

Mary Fee, West of Scotland MSP, has said the situation is 'shameful' and has accused the government of setting unreachable goals.

The Labour politician said: "The pressures on NHS finances are showing more each week and this week’s performance at the A&E at the RAH is a sad example of that.

 “Patients and staff deserve an NHS that is equipped to meet demand. Instead, we see departments like A&E’s across the country struggle to cope. 

“For 1 in 4 people to wait longer than four hours is shameful and could cause further distress to patients waiting to be treated and for families unsure on their loved ones health and wellbeing.

“Since the start of 2019, there have been two sets of statistics released on the RAH and both weeks have shown falling performance, way below the targets set by the Scottish Government.

“This is the record of the SNP Government who have overseen a staffing crisis in our NHS whilst setting targets they can’t meet.”

In the last week of 2018, 17 per cent of patients were left waiting more than four hours to be seen at the Paisley hospital.