Ministers accused of ‘sitting on their hands’ on A&E performance

The Scottish Government has been accused of “sitting on their hands” as accident and emergency waiting time figures continued to stagnate.

Monthly data released by Public Health Scotland show 67.4% of patients in April were seen and subsequently admitted, transferred or discharged within the four-hour target – the same as the month before.

The proportion of people waiting more than 12 hours jumped from 4.5% to 5.2% between March and April, while the number waiting more than eight hours increased from 11.2% to 11.7%.

Meanwhile, weekly figures show 68.5% of patients were seen within the target time in the week to May 26, up from 66.1%.

Along with the improvement in those seen within four hours over the latest week, there was a sharp drop in the proportion waiting more than half a day, falling from 5.2% the previous week to 4%.

A similar drop was also logged in those waiting eight hours or more, from 12.2% to 10.1%.

But despite the slight improvements, Scottish Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said the summer period should have yielded bigger changes.

“SNP ministers shamefully continue to sit on their hands while our A&E departments remain in permanent crisis mode,” he said.

“With the NHS’s peak winter period well behind us, we should be seeing significant improvements. But due to SNP mismanagement we’re not – and lives are being needlessly lost as a result.

“The double whammy of the SNP’s dire workforce planning and the failure of (former health secretary and first minister) Humza Yousaf’s flimsy recovery plan mean it is the shocking norm that over a third of patients have to wait over four hours to be seen.

“As a practising GP, I know how hard my frontline colleagues are working to provide the highest standard of care for patients, but they simply don’t have the resources to meet the huge demands placed upon them.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton agreed waiting times should be improving in the summer months, adding: “The SNP Government have completely failed to get to grips with the crisis in our A&E departments.

“Patients and staff deserve better. We need to see meaningful action taken to reverse the situation.”

Health Secretary Neil Gray praised the performance improvements, but admitted waiting times are still unsatisfactory.

“This week’s four-hour performance across our core A&E departments was at its highest since September 2023,” he said.

“Despite this, waiting times remain longer than we want them to be for too many patients. We are continuing to work closely with all health boards to develop services, support sustained improvement and reduce A&E waits.

“The pressure being felt by our emergency departments is not unique to Scotland, with similar challenges being felt right across the UK.

“The 2024-25 Scottish Budget provides more than £19.5 billion for health and social care and an extra £500 million for frontline boards.”