Scottish Government still ‘woefully short’ of A&E target, new figures show

The Scottish Government has come under fire over “appalling” waiting times in accident-and-emergency (A&E) departments.

The Conservatives claimed that under the SNP “thousands of patients are languishing in overcrowded A&E departments every single week”, warning that long waits for treatment can “cost lives”.

They criticised the latest official figures which showed that 62.7% of those who went to A&E for treatment in the week ending February 15 were seen and either admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours.

The figure is an improvement from the previous week’s performance of 61.3% but still continues to be well below the Scottish Government target of having 95% of patients admitted, transferred or discharged within the four-hour target.

This was missed for a total of 9,647 patients, the latest weekly figures from Public Health Scotland showed.

Meanwhile, a total of 3,783 people – 14.6% of cases – spent eight hours or more in A&E in the week ending February 15.

This includes 1,873 patients – 7.3% of cases – who were there for a minimum of 12 hours.

The figures, however, showed the number of patients having these long waits was down from the previous week.

Scottish Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said: “SNP ministers should hang their heads in shame at these appalling statistics.

“Thousands of patients are languishing in overcrowded A&E departments every single week on their watch and we know these delays cost lives.”

Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Billie claimed Scottish Government ministers were “still falling woefully short of their own 95% target, which has not been met for almost six years”.

Hitting out at the SNP, she said: “There is no way this can be dressed up as anything other than a total failure, with thousands of patients still waiting for hours on end in A&E departments to get help.

“This includes almost 4,000 patients who had to spend more than eight hours in A&E, and nearly 2,000 for more than 12 hours before being attended to.

“It is clear that this situation is unsustainable and unacceptable.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “When the SNP came to power, half-day waits at A&E were rare –  now they’re the norm for thousands of Scots every single week.”

Stressing the importance of “fixing social care”, he added: “A&E departments are backed up because there are so many people who are stuck in hospital and unable to leave. That’s because the care package they need is not available.

“You cannot fix the NHS and bring down A&E waits without fixing social care.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said A&E departments are “facing sustained pressures”, adding that “health boards continue to report high levels of hospital occupancy which is impacting on patient flow and leading to delays at the front door”.

The spokesperson said: “We are also seeing higher numbers of A&E attendances compared to the same time last year.

“This situation is not unique to Scotland, with all other UK nations experiencing similar pressures.

“We have made available over £220 million to reduce waiting times, improve hospital flow and minimise delayed discharges.

“We’re reshaping hospital efficiency as well as working to reduce delayed discharges and improve A&E and diagnostic flow to ensure quicker, better patient access.”