‘Atrocious’ A&E figures show 10% of patients waiting more than 12 hours

One in ten patients spent more than 12 hours in accident and emergency in the first full week of 2026 – with hospital emergency departments recording the second highest ever number of people suffering the longest waits.

New figures from Public Health Scotland showed that in the week ending January 11 a total of 2,727 patients – 10.6% of all cases – spent at least half a day in A&E before being either admitted, transferred or discharged.

That is the highest number since the week ending January 8 2023 – when 11.1% of people had to wait at least 12 hours.

Health Secretary Neil Gray accepted that A&E departments are facing “sustained pressure”, adding this has been worsened by “severe weather during this period” – with parts of Scotland hit by snow and ice.

But opposition parties insisted that lives are being put at risk as a result of the “atrocious figures”.

Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said: “After years of warm words from the SNP, the number of people facing dangerously long waits in A&E is close to record levels.

“Chaos is running rampant in our hospitals despite the tireless efforts of fantastic NHS staff, but the SNP has no answers.

“Patients’ lives are being put at risk by the dangerous incompetence of this SNP Government.”

She spoke out as Public Health Scotland’s data showed of the 25,607 patients who attended A&E in the week ending January 11, less than three-fifths (59.2%) were seen and either admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours.

This is down from 62.5% the previous week and well below the Scottish Government’s target of having 95% of patients admitted, transferred or discharged within the four-hour target time.

The four-hour target was missed for 10,459 patients in the week ending January 11, the data showed.

This includes 4,874 patients (19%) who were in A&E for at least eight hours.

Commenting on the figures, Mr Gray said: “Our A&E departments are facing sustained pressure and we continue to see higher levels of hospital occupancy which is impacting on patient flow and leading to delays at the front door.

“This situation is not unique to Scotland with all other UK nations experiencing similar pressures, but I am working closely with our health boards to make sure improvements are made quickly and effectively.

“Severe weather during this period added further pressure on care delivery, affecting ambulance offloading delays and long waits reported in affected areas.”

He told how health boards had used contingency plans in response to demand, adding that NHS chiefs “continue to work closely with partners to maintain patient flow”.

He said the Scottish Government is “investing £220 million to reduce waiting times, improve hospital flow and minimise delayed discharges”.

Scottish Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said: “These atrocious figures show an NHS in meltdown after nearly two decades of SNP mismanagement.”

Hitting out at the First Minister – who has been working with Mr Gray to try to cut waiting times – the Tory MSP said: “John Swinney is living on a different planet if he thinks Scotland’s health service is on the mend, when the number of Scots waiting over 12 hours for treatment in our A&E departments is double the average for last year.

“His desperate pre-election spin is detached from reality and an insult to staff and patients.”

Adding that “appalling waiting times have become the shocking norm”, he said the First Minister and his Health Secretary “must listen to exhausted staff and patients who are crying out for a credible plan to tackle a crisis that is leading to needless loss of lives”.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “Despite all the spin from the SNP, we are still seeing some of the worst waiting times at A&E of all time.

“When the SNP came to power, half-day waits were a rarity, they’re now happening to thousands of people every single week.”