A&E waiting time figures branded ‘atrocious’ by Scottish Tories

Waiting for more than four hours in accident and emergency has become the “shocking but unacceptable norm” for many patients, the Scottish Conservatives have warned as latest figures are published.

Data from Public Health Scotland showed that while waiting times at emergency departments improved last week, almost a third of patients were still not seen within the target four hours.

Scottish Tory health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane branded the figures “atrocious” and said they “will have led inevitably to avoidable deaths.”

In the week ending September 1 this year, 18,002 (67%) of patients attending at Accident and Emergency departments were seen and admitted, transferred or discharged within that timeframe.

This was up from 66.4% the previous week but well below the 95% target set by the Scottish Government and meant that just under a third (33%) were not seen within four hours.

The figures showed that 2,818 (10.5%) of patients spent more than eight hours in an Emergency Department (ED), down from 2,922 (11.4%) the previous week.

And 1,134 (4.2%) patients spent more than 12 hours in an ED, down from 1,324 (5.2%) the week before.

Dr Gulhane said: “These atrocious figures should be a source of shame for SNP ministers – because they will have led inevitably to avoidable deaths.

“It remains the shocking but unacceptable norm that almost a third of patients are forced to wait more than four hours to be seen in Scotland’s overstretched A&E departments.

“Dedicated NHS staff lack the vital resources they need to tackle these waits, due to the woeful workforce planning of successive SNP health secretaries, coupled with Humza Yousaf’s flimsy Covid recovery plan.

“Winter is fast approaching and unless Neil Gray takes action now, Scotland’s emergency wards face their worst crisis ever.”

Mr Gray said the latest weekly figures show more than two thirds of people being seen in emergency departments within four hours.

He said: “Although we have the best performing core A&E departments in the UK, performance remains below the level we all wish to see.

“We are continuing to work with Boards to reduce long waits and support delivery of sustained improvements.

“Services are facing sustained pressure and this is not unique to Scotland – with similar challenges being felt right across the UK.

“This year’s Scottish Budget provides more than £19.5 billion for health and social care and an extra £500 million for frontline boards.”