Number seen within four hours at A&E continues to stagnate

The proportion of people seen at Scotland’s emergency departments within four hours has continued to stagnate, dropping slightly in the past week.

Figures released on Tuesday for the week up to July 2 show 68.8% of people who went to A&E were seen and subsequently admitted or discharged within the four-hour Government target.

The figure dropped slightly from the previous week, when it was 69%.

The Scottish Government aims to have 95% of people seen within four hours, but that figure has not been hit since the early months of the pandemic, more than 1,000 days ago.

According to the figures, of the 25,394 attendances at A&E, 600 waited longer than 12 hours, up from 583.

In the same week, the number of people waiting longer than eight hours dropped from 2,102 to 1,966.

A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: “Performance against the four-hour target has stabilised.

“However, we know performance is not where it needs to be and we are working closely with the health boards facing the greatest challenges in A&E, to drive down waiting times and improve services for patients and staff.

Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “It has now been a record 1,095 days since the Scottish Government last met its A&E target, surpassing the 994 days that this target was missed pre-pandemic.

“In that time, almost a million Scots have waited too long for treatment and there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel.

“This is the kind of service that Scots have come to expect from Humza Yousaf and the SNP/Green Government.

“There is no shortage of goodwill and dedication on the part of NHS staff, but they don’t have the beds, safe staffing and resources they need.”

Scottish Labour deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie said Scotland cannot accept the current A&E performance as the “new normal”.

“Dedicated NHS staff are working tirelessly to deliver the best possible service, but they are being failed by this incompetent SNP government,” she said.

“It is utterly unacceptable for patients to be waiting longer than four hours – this access standard exists for a reason, as long waits increase the likelihood of worse outcomes for patients, including mortality.

“This problem spiralled out of control when Humza Yousaf was health secretary, and he cannot wash his hands of it as First Minister.

But Scottish Tory chairman Craig Hoy said the figures were now the “new norm”.

He said: “That should never be acceptable, yet even at the height of summer our A&E departments remain completely overwhelmed despite the best efforts of dedicated staff.

“The buck stops with Humza Yousaf. His flimsy NHS Recovery plan – produced almost two years ago – has not been worth the paper it was printed on and should be ripped up immediately.

“Needless delays lead to tragic and unnecessary loss of life in our A&E departments. The SNP last met their own A&E targets nearly three years ago and they have barely come close ever since to doing so.

“If patients and staff are not to suffer another appalling winter in A&E, then the latest SNP Health Secretary Michael Matheson must get on top of this crisis now and outline a real recovery plan for our NHS, which is buckling due to SNP inaction.”