A&E performance target still being missed for third of patients, new data shows

A third of patients waited longer than the Scottish Government’s target time in accident and emergency departments, figures continue to show.

For the week ending October 1, some 17,123 patients – 66.1% of all attendances – were seen and either admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours.

This was down very slightly from the previous week, when 66.3% of patients were seen within the four-hour target.

In the most recent data from Public Health Scotland, 2,870 patients (11.1%) spent more than eight hours in an emergency department.

A total of 1,142 patients (4.4%) spent more than 12 hours in A&E.

Performance against the four-hour target has been below 80% since the summer of 2021 based on monthly data from all A&E sites.

The target has been 95% since 2007.

The latest monthly data, for August this year, showed 71.3% of patients were dealt with inside of four hours.

Responding to the figures, Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said: “It is utterly unacceptable that the norm is now for a third of patients to be left waiting over four hours in Scotland’s A&E departments.

“These shocking delays are a direct result of dire workforce planning by successive SNP health secretaries and the failure of Humza Yousaf’s flimsy NHS recovery plan.

“We know that these lengthy waits – with thousands of patients languishing in A&E for over eight or even over 12 hours – can lead to tragic, avoidable deaths.

“What makes these figures even more terrifying for overstretched staff and patients is that the peak winter period for Scotland’s NHS is still to come.”

Scottish Labour deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie said A&E departments have been “in constant chaos for years now”, accusing the Scottish Government of being “complacent”.

She added: “The SNP Government appear to have accepted this turmoil is the new normal for our health service and seem to have given up on fixing it.

“This relentless crisis is putting lives at risk every single week, forcing thousands of patients to suffer for hours on end and leaving staff exhausted.

“Scottish Labour will continue to fight for urgent action to end this crisis, starting by tackling delayed discharge and properly supporting staff.”