ALMOST 80,000 children attended A&E in Glasgow last year according to official figures.

More than 1500 a week have been treated at the hospitals. The majority were at the Royal Children’s Hospital accounting for almost 60,000 visits.

The health board statistics show a big increase over the last seven years.

The increase is mirrored across Scotland but in Glasgow’s biggest hospitals

At the Royal Children’s Hospital the number rose from 42,600 in 2010 to just under 60,000 last year.

The figures were obtained by the Scottish Conservatives who said more people could be going to hospital because of a lack of GPs.

The health board however said the increase was down to improvements in recording the age of patients.

Across Scotland the increase was 268,670 in 2010 to 310,496 in 2017, up 16%.

In Glasgow’s children’s hospital the rise was 21%.

Miles Briggs Tory health spokesman said: “No parent wants to take a child to A&E except under the most urgent of circumstances.

“We know that children are not becoming more ill so this substantial increase in admissions could be explained by the dwindling number of alternatives thanks to the SNP.

“This considerable increase in children’s admissions will be causing parents and children significant distress and contribute to increased pressure on A&E departments.

A spokeswoman for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, said: “The rise in patient numbers year on year across Scotland, and reflected in Glasgow and Clyde, is due to national changes in the way we identify the ages of patients attending accident and emergency departments.

“The age of patients attending accident and emergency departments is identified from their Community Health Index (CHI) number.

“The recording of a CHI number only became a mandatory requirement in 2010 and recording of CHI numbers has continued to improve year on year providing age specific data (in the years preceding 2017 there would be a significant number of children attending A&E as patients not paediatric patients).

The health board said it had increased resources for children’s services

The spokeswoman added: “In particular, staffing levels increased with the opening of the new Royal Hospital for Children.