Number of A&E patients waiting longer than four hours reaches record high in Scotland

The number of patients waiting more than four hours to be seen in A&E has reached its highest ever number for a single week, figures show.

Public Health Scotland data showed 9,146 people waited longer than four hours to be seen and then either admitted, transferred or discharged from A&E in the week up to August 14.

The previous highest number was 9,143 in the week ending July 3.

The Scottish Government's target sets out that A&E departments should aim to see a minimum of 95% of people within a four-hour timeframe.

The figures have reached a record high.

However, in the latest figures that goal was not met for more than a third of patients.

NHS Scotland: Number of A&E patients waiting longer than four hours highest on record

The four-hour waiting time target has not been met since July 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Of the 26,213 people who attended an emergency department at a Scottish hospital in the week ending August 14, 65.1% were seen and submitted or discharged within the four-hour target.

Meanwhile, 2,880 patients spent more than eight hours in A&E, while 983 people there for 12 hours or more.

Figures have fallen from the previous week, when 67.9% of attendees were seen within less than four hours.

Almost 1,200 more patients waited longer to be seen in the week ending August 14 - with 7,947 people waiting in an emergency department for more than four hours in the previous week.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "The pandemic has presented our NHS with the greatest challenge of its 74-year existence.

"Despite this, Scotland continues to have the best performing A&Es in the UK, outperforming those in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for seven years.

"Occupancy and staffing pressures remain high and continue to impact the delivery of emergency services.

"Covid has not gone away but, despite this, almost two-thirds of patients are being seen within four hours of arrival.

"We are investing £50 million to drive down waiting times through our Urgent and Unscheduled Care Collaborative programme, including further development of Flow Navigation Centres in every board which aim to ensure rapid access to a clinician and scheduled appointments, where possible.

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"This will avoid people waiting in A&E waiting rooms unnecessarily. We are engaging with boards on an ongoing basis to support them to avoid delays."

Scottish Conservative Shadow Health Secretary Dr Sandesh Gulhane said: "There is no sign of an end to, or even any significant improvement in, the long-running NHS crisis the SNP have presided over.

"The numbers backed up in A&E are not just miles from the nationalists' own targets but indicate a service that is unfit for purpose. These latest figures show more people waiting for longer than four hours than ever before.

"Humza Yousaf's flimsy NHS Recovery Plan needs to be completely rethought. Its complete failure is letting down dedicated staff who are now at the end of their tether, endangering patients, and creating unnecessary suffering."

Scottish Liberal Democrats leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said the Scottish Government's NHS recovery plan was "half baked".

He added: "These waits will put lives at risk, we are teetering on the precipice of a disaster in our NHS. We need the Health Secretary to be focused on this crisis day in day out to prevent this looming winter of chaos for our NHS. "