Scots forced to endure long A&E waits 2.4 million times in six years

The equivalent of nearly half of Scotland’s population has waited more than four hours in A&E in the last six years.

The Scottish Government has missed its own emergency waiting time target more than 2,442,000 times since 2020, figures from Public Health Scotland show.

The figures show more than 778,000 patients have waited more than eight hours for treatment since 2020.

Meanwhile, more than 322,000 patients have waited more than 12 hours at A&E in the last six years – a number larger than the population of Aberdeen.

It comes after figures earlier in the week showed emergency wait times in May were the worst on record, following a string of record-breaking months for long waits.

The Scottish Government last met its targets for 95% of patients to be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours six years ago.

The Conservatives said successive health secretaries had allowed “appalling” long waits to become the “shocking norm”.

Miles Briggs, the party’s health spokesman, said: “These shocking figures are nothing short of a national scandal.

“In the last six years, millions of Scots have been left to suffer in dangerously overcrowded A&E departments due to SNP inaction.

“We know these long waits lead to tragic and avoidable deaths, despite the best efforts of frontline staff.

“They have been abandoned by successive SNP health secretaries, who have allowed these waits to become the shocking norm in Scotland’s A&E departments.”

Briggs said the SNP has allowed Scotland’s NHS to be “stuck in permanent crisis mode”.

He added: “They must finally admit their approach has failed and back our plans to slash bureaucracy, cut middle management and get resources to the frontline to urgently reduce A&E wait times and save lives.”

Scottish Lib Dem health spokesman Adam Harley said the scale of the waits was “deeply concerning”.

He said: “Six years on from the target last being met, the figures show the situation is getting worse, not better.

“I speak to so many people who now expect to spend hours waiting in A&E. That should never become accepted as normal.

“When the SNP came to power, waits of more than 12 hours were exceptionally rare. Today, they have become a regular feature of emergency care in Scotland.

“Long delays leave patients waiting in pain and distress, and risk putting people off seeking help.”

Harley said part of the issue was the SNP’s “neglect” of social care.

He went on: “Nurses and doctors can’t get people through A&E because far too many hospital beds are occupied by people who are medically ready to leave but can’t because the care package they need isn’t available.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats want to encourage more people into caring professions and boost pay and conditions for care workers so that everyone is seen in good time and we get our NHS back on track.”

A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said: “A&E departments continue to experience significant pressure and latest monthly statistics show that there was a 7.8% increase in the number of people attending Scotland’s A&Es in May, compared to the previous month.

“These pressures are not unique to Scotland and while performance is below where we want it to be, Scotland’s A&E performance is once again outperforming England and Wales.

“We are committed to improving A&E performance and tackling delays for patients. That’s why we will be publishing a new national plan for improving the flow of patients through our hospitals, from the front door to discharge, within our first 100 days.”