NHS FORTH VALLEY has faced a "significant increase" in the number of people with flu and respiratory illnesses requiring admittance to hospital.

The health board confirmed just 57.3 per cent of accident and emergency patients were seen and treated within four hours during in the final week of the year.

This comes against the Scottish Government benchmark of 95 per cent, with Forth Valley among the worst performing health boards in the country.

It was a difficult winter for a number of hospitals in Scotland, with 21.6 per of patients outwith the target time and 272 longer than 12 hours.

MSP Alexander Stewart called it a "poor performance", saying SNP ministers are in denial about what the NHS needs to support its patients.

Meanwhile, MSP Keith Brown said the government has already committed resilience funding and applauded the "amazing efforts" of healthcare workers.

Forth Valley NHS put its performance down to a number of challenges and outlined it was doing all it could.

Andrew Murray, medical director, said: "We are sorry that a number of patients have experienced longer waits during this busy period and we are doing everything possible to reduce delays.

"All patients attending the emergency department are assessed and those with more urgent or serious health issues continue to be given priority.

"Many patients attending the emergency department will also undergo tests and start treatment while they wait to [be] admitted or discharged."

Mr Stewart said it is broadly understood winter is the toughest time for the NHS, but criticised his opposition for the figures.

He said: "Just when you think that the SNP’s record of this cannot get any worse, new statistics come out showing further regressions.

"The situation is so bad now that, as we have seen with Forth Valley, barely half of A&E patients were seen on time.

"SNP ministers also seem to be in total denial that our health service does not have the staff or the infrastructure it needs to deliver the appropriate level of care for patients.

"Indeed, people are starting to lose confidence in the SNP’s same old rhetoric whilst NHS services are crumbling around them, which clearly displays that NHS is most certainly not 'safe in their hands'."

Mr Brown highlighted the four-hour waiting time includes patients being registered, triaged, seen by a doctor or nurse, investigated, diagnosed, and either treated and discharged or admitted to another ward.

He said: "The cold snap of weather before Christmas saw an unfortunate increase in injuries caused by falls on icy pavements and roads, and the high incidence of flu, levels of which are four times that we had this week last year, are putting serious pressure on acute medical services.

"The Scottish Government has committed £22.4million in resilience funding to A&E departments across the country to better enable the dedicated NHS doctors, nurses and staff to deliver a high quality and efficient service throughout the winter.

"The winter months are always challenging for health services, but rather than running our NHS down, Mr Stewart and his Tory colleagues would do well to remember that the hard work of NHS staff across the country means that Scotland’s health service is the best performing in the UK."