INVERCLYDE Royal missed waiting time targets for dealing with patients in A&E throughout last year.
The benchmark is for 95 per cent of patients to be dealt with within a four-hour timeframe.
But the hospital was unable to reach that figure during 2019 - and only made it above 90 per cent for five months of the year.
Bosses have admitted that the situation is 'problematic' and have pinpointed the number of admissions for drink and drugs - particularly at weekend - as a contributory factor.
They are now looking at ways to reduce the number of admissions.
Meanwhile the overall number of people showing up at casualty continues to rise.
In 2019 nearly 32,00 patients attended A&E at Inverclyde Royal, which is an increase of 1,440 on the previous year.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here