'Appalling': Fifth of all calls to NHS 24 abandoned amid waits of over 4 hours
Scottish ministers are now being told to make sure it is investing in frontline NHS services properly.
Nearly a fifth of all calls to the NHS 24 helpline last year were abandoned amid waiting times that were branded “truly appalling”, figures have revealed.
A total of 317,000 calls to the service were abandoned las year, equating to 19.2 per cent of all calls to NHS 24.
Data obtained by the Scottish Conservatives via a Freedom of Information request also showed some callers were on the line for more than four hours to speak to an advisor.
The Scottish Tories say this demonstrates the SNP Government’s failure to tackle GP shortages and accident-and-emergency (A&E) waiting times. John Swinney’s Government has been urged to urgently invest more in frontline services.
NHS 24 has been in operation since 2001. The helpline offers urgent care and mental health support over the phone at all times of the day. The service also offers advice when GPs, pharmacies and dentists are closed.
During the peak winter period in December, 26 per cent of all calls to NHS 24 were abandoned as the average wait to be connected soared to 42 minutes.
The longest wait recorded in 2024 was four hours and four-and-a-half minutes, recorded in September. Similarly long waits were also recorded in July and October.
Dr Sandesh Gulhane, the Scottish Conservatives’ health spokesman, said: “It is shocking that one in five Scots were forced to abandon their calls to NHS 24, and for those patients fortunate enough to get through, they had to endure truly appalling waits.
“Even in summer, patients were having to wait four hours to get through and at the height of winter, the SNP’s failure to support NHS 24 clearly pushed the service beyond breaking point.
“These figures are also a reflection of the desperate shortage of GPs and the chronic A&E waiting times, which John Swinney has no credible plan to tackle - as we saw from this week’s threadbare Programme for Government.
“These stats must be an urgent wake-up call for SNP ministers to finally ensure money is getting to where it is needed most in our NHS, rather than being squandered on pointless bureaucracy.”
Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour’s health spokeswoman, added: “These damning figures show too many Scots in need of help are being left hanging on the telephone.
“These unanswered calls will pile pressure on other services or result in people simply going without the help they need.
“Under the SNP, people are being bounced between GPs with no appointments, dangerously overcrowded A&Es or unanswered NHS 24 calls.
“A Scottish Labour government will put an end to SNP chaos and ensure our NHS is once again freehand available at the point of need.”
Mr Swinney announced in this week’s Programme of Government the NHS was to be one of his top priorities, after he trailed a pledge to end the 8am scramble for GPs ahead of his speech.
He pledged to deliver 150,000 extra appointments and procedures before next year’s Scottish election, and to give 100,000 patients a GP appointment focusing on high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, obesity and smoking by March.
However, the First Minister was accused of playing a "pathetic con” with the pledge on GP appointments, with the British Medical Association warning the extra capacity was “a drop in the ocean” compared to the 650,000 GP appointments every week in Scotland.
Scottish Tories leader Russell Findlay said at First Minister’s Questions on Thursday: “The way to increase appointments is to increase the number of GPs. The SNP promised 800 more, but that hasn’t happened.
“They constantly make big pledges about the NHS, but always fail patients.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “NHS 24 continues to work hard to ensure calls to its 111 service are answered as quickly and safely as possible.
“Calls to the 111 service can go unanswered for a variety of reasons, including callers choosing to end their call after being connected to the automated messaging service and hearing the options available to them, including an NHS 24 callback service during busier periods.
“Other options include accessing self-care advice via the NHS Inform website or contacting another area of the health service, which may be more appropriate to meet their needs.”
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