Emergency departments at risk of collapse, SNP ministers warned
Critics said huge waits have become ‘a normalised horror story in our NHS’
Emergency departments in Scotland are at risk of collapse without immediate intervention, it has been warned, as figures show record high A&E waiting times.
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) said “lives are at stake” as it called on the Scottish government to take urgent action.
Opposition politicians said huge waits have become “a normalised horror story” in the health service.
Figures show a record number of patients spent more than four hours (51,917) and more than eight hours (20,138) in A&E in September.
It was the third worst month ever recorded at A&E in terms of the percentage of people seen within four hours.
The Scottish government’s target is for 95 per cent of patients to be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours, but this was only achieved for 64.9 per cent in September – down from 66.6 per cent in August.
There were also 8,658 patients – representing six per cent of A&E cases over September – who waited 12 hours or more, the highest total since January.
Dr Fiona Hunter, vice president of RCEM Scotland, said: "Throughout 2026, emergency departments have been in a state of crisis with absolutely no room to stretch when extra pressure comes our way.
"Thousands of patients each month have been waiting for more than half a day in our emergency departments. That's thousands of our own parents, children, brothers and sisters experiencing agonising waits because of a total breakdown in patient flow.
"As these latest figures show, our emergency departments are far from ready for the surge in demand which we know will come when winter hits, as it does every year.
"Last winter was incredibly tough – both for patients and for the staff trying their best to look after them. We are entering the cold months now in a worse state than this time last year, despite promise after promise that things would be different.
"We once again call on the government to urgently send support our way in the form of improvements to the 'back door' of our hospitals. Lives are at stake, and without immediate intervention, emergency departments are at risk of collapse."
Scottish Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said A&E departments “are completely overwhelmed, with staff facing burnout”.
She added: “As winter approaches, the demands on our NHS and hardworking staff will only increase further. That is why it is imperative that we have a proper winter plan to help the service to cope during this busy period.
“However, we must also see a comprehensive and detailed strategy brought forward to set out how waiting times in A&E will be significantly reduced over the longer term.”
Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesman Adam Harley said: “Huge waits at A&E have become a normalised horror story in our NHS. Patients are being left on trolleys on corridors wondering if they’ll ever get the treatment they need.
“Staff and patients are gearing up for another grim winter if ministers don’t act now.
“The government must get serious about fixing the underlying problems in social care, letting people leave hospital on time, freeing up bed space and getting everyone the care they need.”
Scottish Conservative health and care spokesman Miles Briggs said the “atrocious figures” were “further proof the SNP has no clue how to fix the permanent crisis in Scotland’s A&E departments”.
He said: “More and more patients are suffering intolerable delays because successive SNP health secretaries have presided over a system where backroom bureaucracy is prioritised over frontline care.
“With winter rapidly approaching, patients and frontline staff deserve better than flimsy plans from the SNP and ministers pretending everything is fine.
“John Swinney needs to stop the spin and get serious about the crisis in A&E which is spiralling out of control ahead of winter once again under the SNP.”
Health Secretary Angela Constance urged the public to “play their part” by going to A&E “only when necessary”.
She said performance “remains below the level we want to see – and this cannot continue”.
Ms Constance added: “We are taking action through our plan for hospital flow, which includes expanding Hospital at Home services, embedding a home first approach to care, and implementing the ‘discharge without delay’ approach in all health boards this winter.”
Separate weekly figures published by Public Health Scotland show in the week ending October 25, fewer than three out of five patients in A&E were seen and then admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours.
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