Hospital 'not at full capacity'

The hospital was bought from the private sector

The Golden Jubilee National Hospital is still not running at full capacity - more than two years after it was bought by the NHS to cut waiting times.

Figures obtained by BBC Scotland suggest it could have carried out more than 400 extra operations last year.

The Clydebank hospital was under-used for almost every type of operation.

But Health Minister Andy Kerr said the facility was a "huge success" and stressed it could still reach its targets by the end of this month.

The Scottish Executive said the number of operations at the hospital had risen six-fold since it was bought from the private sector for £37.5m in June 2002.

More operations could have been carried out at the hospital

The former HCI Hospital was purchased with the aim of bringing down waiting times in Scottish hospitals.

The figures obtained by BBC Scotland detail activity over the last 10 months.

During that time the hospital carried out 20% fewer heart operations than planned, and 13% fewer orthopaedic operations.

BBC Scotland's health correspondent Eleanor Bradford said the Jubilee was unlike other hospitals because it had to wait for health boards, rather than GPs, to refer patients.

"For whatever reason, health boards do not seem to be doing that - or at least not enough," she said.

My understanding is that the loading for the hospital will allow us to reach targets that we want to get to Andy Kerr Health Minister

However, Mr Kerr said: "I am not aware of any health board in Scotland not referring patients to the Golden Jubilee. If that's the case I will deal with it.

"That is why we have got 18,300 procedures, that is why it has increased by 40% this year, that is why it will increase by 42% next year.

"That does not suggest to me that boards are not wanting to use the hospital."

He told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme that the Golden Jubilee was a "fantastic facility" and that people should not be "getting into a fankle for nothing".

"Let's herald it as a success and not focus on 10 months of a 12-month set of statistics," he said.

Full capacity

He stressed that individual patients had different needs and hospitals were not a production line.

Efforts would continue to maximise the use of the facility, which he said was working at full capacity in February and March.

Mr Kerr said: "My understanding is that the loading for the hospital will allow us to reach targets that we want to get to."

Last month it emerged that the average patient is waiting longer than at any time since devolution.

The number of people on hospital waiting lists in Scotland at the end of December was at its highest ever level, with 113,612 awaiting inpatient and day case treatment.