Number of people waiting more than 12 hours at A&E highest on record

The number of people waiting more than 12 hours at Scotland’s emergency departments is at its highest level, new figures show.

In the week up to August 21, some 1,287 people waited longer than half a day before being admitted or discharged at A&E.

This figure increased from 983 the week before and rises above the previous high of 1,190 in the week up to July 3.

The number of people waiting longer than eight hours was also at a record high, with 3,159 recording in the same week – up from 2,880 the week before.

The Scottish Government aims to have at least 95% of patients at A&E seen and admitted or discharged within four hours, but this figure sat at just 65% in the week of July 6, the second lowest on record.

Some 9,093 of the 26,017 people attending emergency departments waited longer than four hours, according to figures from Public Health Scotland.

Health Secretary Humza Yousaf asked Scots to consider if they need to go to A&E before attending during winter, when pressure is expected to increase.

“Covid has not gone away but despite this, almost two-thirds of patients are being seen within four hours of arrival.

“As we begin to enter the winter period, people should consider whether their condition is an emergency, such as a stroke, heart attack or major trauma, before going to A&E. Local GPs and pharmacies can be contacted during the day for non-critical care, NHS 24 is also available day or night on 111 for non-emergency inquiries.

“Through our Urgent and Unscheduled Care Collaborative programme we are investing £50 million to drive down waiting times, including further development of Flow Navigation Centres in every board to ensure rapid access to a clinician and scheduled appointments, where possible.

“This will avoid people waiting in A&E waiting rooms unnecessarily.”

Scottish Tory health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said: “We know excess delays inevitably translate to needless deaths, which is why the record number of patients waiting more than eight hours and more than 12 hours to be seen is so alarming.

“It’s completely unacceptable, and a damning indictment of SNP mismanagement, that nearly 1,300 patients in one week alone had to wait more than half a day to be seen in Scotland’s emergency wards.

“Rather than seeking to lower public expectations further by warning of worse to come over the winter, the Health Secretary should be redrawing his woefully inadequate plan to prevent this crisis worsening.”

Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said that “lives were on the line”, accusing the Health Secretary of “incompetent stewardship of our NHS”.

“A&E is in complete disarray and Scotland’s nurses have been driven to consider industrial action,” she added.

“Scotland’s healthcare workers are working around the clock but they are not being supported by this Government and its missing-in-action health secretary.

“Humza Yousaf needs to stop making excuses for his inaction and start to get to grips with this crisis – if he does not, then lives will be needlessly lost.”

Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton urged the Health Secretary to come up with a plan to fix emergency departments ahead of Parliament returning from recess next week.

“Humza Yousaf’s last significant intervention was the NHS Recovery Plan over a year ago, which wasn’t worth the paper it was written on because waits have spiralled ever since,” he said.

“There has been no recovery, and the minister has done nothing to reverse the decline.

“We need to see action now. He should come to Parliament next week with a new plan.

“These waits will put lives at risk. Every week we get closer to a deeper disaster in our NHS this winter.

“Yet people are being taken for granted by SNP ministers who are shifting their attentions and taxpayers’ money to independence.”