NHS Scotland crisis: New health secretary Neil Gray says emergency departments are stabilising, despite poor A&E performance

Newly-appointed health secretary Neil Gray has said NHS Scotland’s emergency departments are showing “signs of stabilisation”, as new figures show just 63.5 per cent of patients were seen within four hours in Scotland’s emergency departments

Newly-appointed health secretary Neil Gray has said NHS Scotland’s emergency departments are showing “signs of stabilisation” and that pressure should ease “in coming weeks”, despite poor performance continuing.

The forecast was issued as the NHS starts to emerge from the worst of the peak winter flu season.

The latest Public Health Scotland statistics show that during the week ending February 4, there were 25,212 unplanned attendances at emergency departments in Scotland, compared to 25,325 the previous week, and a weekly average of 25,185 in 2023.

Health secretary Neil Gray said the Scottish Government “recognises that the system remains under sustained pressure”. Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

On the Scottish Government’s four-hour target waiting time, a total of 15,999 (63.5 per cent) of emergency department attendances were seen and resulted in a subsequent admission, transfer or discharge within four hours.

This is compared to 15,904 (62.8 per cent) the previous week, and a 16,606 (65.9 per cent) weekly average for 2023. The Government has set a target for 95 per cent of patients to be seen within four hours.

Mr Gray, said the Government “recognises that the system remains under sustained pressure” and that “waiting times are longer than we want them to be for some patients”.

“Despite this, there are some signs of stabilisation across the system in recent weeks, and we hope to see pressure easing in weeks to come,” he said.

“A&E performance is impacted by pressures from across the wider health and social care system, which is why our Unscheduled Care Collaborative Programme is taking a whole system approach as we work with health boards to deliver sustained improvement.

“Hospital bed occupancy continues to be a major factor impacting on performance. To address this, the Delayed Discharge and Hospital Occupancy Action Plan is being implemented at pace, delivering actions we know work to ensure patients receive the right care in the right setting.”

Scottish Labour’s health spokesperson Dame Jackie Baillie said: “We might have a new health minister, but it is clear that we have the same old chaos in our A&E departments. Neil Gray inherits an NHS plunged into disarray by the failures of successive SNP health ministers.

“While staff work tirelessly to save lives, the SNP has indulged in a revolving-door policy with health secretaries leaving post long before they got to grips with the crisis. Neil Gray must show now why he has what it takes to succeed where so many, including Humza Yousaf, have failed.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said NHS Scotland “has been consistently failed by its ministers”.

"The new health secretary must not allow these dire waiting times in Scotland's A&E departments to continue to simply be the new normal,” he said. “Staff and patients need to see real action from this government.” Scottish Conservative deputy health spokesperson Tess White MSP said: “Michael Matheson may finally have done the right thing and resigned, but these waiting times expose the crisis he has left behind in Scotland’s A&E departments … after nearly 17 years of SNP mismanagement of our NHS, it is clear that the latest health secretary – Neil Gray – cannot repeat the mistakes of his predecessors.”