Almost 300 wait more than 48 hours in A&E, figures show

Almost 300 people waited more than 48 hours in A&E departments over an eight-month period last year, new figures show.

Data from Public Health Scotland showed that 275 people waited longer than 48 hours in accident and emergency between January and August 2025.

The figures, obtained by Scottish Labour via a Freedom of Information request, also showed that 1,380 people waited for more than 36 hours and 7,965 waited for over 24 hours.

The number of people waiting more than 48 hours has risen from 12 over the same eight month period in 2019, though is down from 323 in 2024.

Scottish Labour health spokeswoman Dame Jackie Baillie called for action to tackle the issue and pledged that Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar would do whatever it takes to “fix our NHS” if he were to become first minister.

She said: “Nowhere is the SNP’s failure clearer than in our NHS. After 18 years in charge, Scots are suffering agonising waits in A&E, desperate to get help.

“Despite the spin from John Swinney and Neil Gray – who claim the NHS is heading in the right direction – it is obvious that our health service is nowhere near where it needs to be, with people unable to quickly access help in their time of greatest need.

“Patients are having to suffer, and staff are being let down, because of the SNP’s abject failure to get to grips with this crisis, with taxpayers paying the price for the utter incompetence of ministers.

“The truth is that our NHS won’t survive a third decade of this tired, knackered and out-of-touch SNP Government.

“As First Minister, Anas Sarwar will ensure our NHS is free and available at the point of need, declare a national waiting times emergency and do whatever it takes to fix our NHS.”

Scotland’s Health Secretary Neil Gray said: “We recognise the significant pressures facing our Emergency Departments and are grateful to all NHS staff working tirelessly to care for patients during what we know will be a challenging winter.

“Our £20 million investment is increasing social care capacity and strengthening support at emergency department front doors to ease pressure and reduce admissions.

“We are working closely with health boards to improve patient flow and tackle delayed discharges, ensuring sufficient community capacity to support people who are medically fit to leave hospital.

“Health is at the heart of our Budget which provides record funding of £21.7 billion.

“To protect the NHS’s long-term future sustainably, we also plan to invest in a range of reforms including shifting care from acute to community settings, dedicating £531 million to general practice over three years and expanding Hospital at Home capacity to 2,000 beds by end of 2026.”