Less than two-thirds of A&E patients seen in four hours as waiting times worsen

Waiting times in Scotland’s emergency departments have worsened, with less than two-thirds of patients seen in the four-hour target, new figures show.

Statistics from Public Health Scotland show 63.4% of people at A&E units were seen within four hours in the week to April 16, down from 64.9% the previous week.

A Scottish Government target aims to have 95% of those who go to emergency departments seen within four hours, but performance has stagnated around the same level for the past two months.

Of the 24,719 attendances at A&E during the latest week, 911 people waited longer than 12 hours, while 2,702 waited longer than eight.

Some 9,043 waited more than four hours, the figures show.

Scottish Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said the figures are the result of “Humza Yousaf’s disastrous stewardship of the NHS” in his previous role of health secretary.

He added: “The now First Minister’s flimsy recovery plan has completely failed to remobilise frontline services.

“Patients are continuing to suffer the effects of his inaction and lack of leadership.

“Tragically we know that these excess delays in A&E lead to dozens of avoidable deaths in our hospitals.

“The new SNP Health Secretary faces an uphill battle to turn round the situation for dedicated frontline staff and suffering patients as a result of the overwhelming failures by the man who has appointed him to that role.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton called for “urgent action” from Health Secretary Michael Matheson, adding: “This crisis in our A&E departments has been rumbling on for years and now spans multiple health secretaries.

“The last few weeks of flatlining performance in our A&E departments shows that more of the same simply won’t cut it for the patients and staff.

“The SNP have been distracted by their obsession with breaking up the UK and by the crisis in their own party, but these figures ought to snap their attention back to where it really matters: the NHS.”