Michelle Johnson, 42, was referred to the RAH by her GP as it was the closest hospital that provides the lumbar puncture treatment required to treat the painful condition by draining fluid from her brain.

When she arrived at the hospital at 6pm on Monday evening – suffering from intense pain — she was initially seen by a nurse after four hours, but was then told it would be another 12 hours before she would receive any treatment.

Although Michelle was aware staff were under intense pressure — even noticing patients lying on beds in corridors – she was forced to abandon her wait at around 10pm and seek treatment elsewhere.

She said: “I badly needed the treatment, the pressure on my brain was really bad and I’d had a headache for 12 days. I told the nurse I suffered from fibromyalgia and that I couldn’t sit in the chair any longer as I was in extreme pain, she just said that there was nothing she could do, there were no beds. When I explained I would have to go home she said she’d have to consult a doctor, but I wasn’t staying any longer.” She added: “There was an old woman in her 80s that had been flown in from the islands, she was lying in a bed in the corridor with her head bleeding. It was disgusting to see a hospital like this. The staff were clearly stressed and at times they were rude.” Michelle went to the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow the next day, where she was seen and treated within three hours. She had received the treatment at the RAH once before — a few years ago — but did not have to wait an extended period of time.

Waiting times at the Paisley hospital have been publicly criticised recently, prompting First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to send in additional support services tasked with ensuring the hospital’s standards improve.

A spokeswoman from NHSGGC told the Reporter: “On Monday our A&E departments experienced another very busy evening. Our staff worked extremely hard to see and either admit or discharge patients as soon as possible. There has been a lot of learning across Scotland in recent months about various different approaches to improving efficiency of patient flows in A&Es.

“Work with the support team got under way last Monday and we are hopeful some of that learning may prove to be appropriate for the RAH to help our teams on the ground deliver improved performance in the weeks and months ahead.

We remain committed to meeting the highest levels of service provision for the patients we serve and every opportunity to improve on our current challenged performance is welcomed.” Dunbartonshire MSP Jackie Baillie, who has been campaigning for a north of the River Clyde A&E solution Dumbarton and the Vale, told the Reporter: “It is completely unacceptable for patients to wait over 15 hours in pain for treatment at the RAH.

“It’s not the fault of the under-resourced and over-worked NHS staff who are doing the best they can under intense pressure. Government ministers in Edinburgh should apologise to staff and patients for completely ignoring the crisis in our A&E. The crisis has been brewing at the RAH since last year but Nicola Sturgeon only sent in the emergency support team weeks ago. This isn’t good enough.

“Scottish Labour’s plans for a £100 million Frontline Fund would have increased the health budget by more than £400 million, allowing us to ease the pressure on our NHS and fix the mess at A&E.”