People in Scotland facing ‘abominably long’ waits in A&E, Lib Dems say

More than 12,500 people waited in excess of 24 hours at A&E departments last year, the Scottish Liberal Democrats have claimed.

A freedom of information (FOI) request by the party found 12,571 people waited more than a full day at A&Es in 2025.

Party leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said people are “waiting in agony” for urgent help.

He said: “Under the SNP, people are facing abominably long waits at A&E.

“It never used to be like this, but thanks to two decades of SNP mismanagement people are waiting ages in agony for what should be urgent help.

“Nurses and doctors are at their wits’ end. There are simply not enough beds in longer-term wards to move A&E patients into.

“Those wards are full of people who can’t go home, despite being medically ready, because of care worker and care package shortages in the community.”

The FOI also found 41,828 people waited longer than 24 hours at A&Es between 2015 and 2025.

It follows previous research by the Scottish Lib Dems which found some patients are facing waits of up to six days at A&Es in 2025.

Mr Cole-Hamilton added: “A&E waits will continue to soar if we don’t fix the underlying crisis in care; Scottish Liberal Democrats are the only party banging our drum about this.

“We’ve got a realistic plan to raise the wages of care workers and attract more people into the profession, helping free up space in A&Es.

“You can vote for that plan in May by backing us on your second, peach-coloured, regional ballot paper.”

Health Secretary Neil Gray said: “Our A&E departments are facing sustained pressures, health boards continue to report high 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.

“Long waits of this nature are unacceptable and we are determined to reduce these occurrences.

“We are investing £220 million to reduce waiting times, improve hospital flow and minimise delayed discharges. This investment has supported the development of front door frailty services in every health board in Scotland and the expansion of Hospital at Home capacity to at least 2,000 beds by the end of 2026.”