Waiting times in Scotland’s emergency departments are at the worst level since early January, official figures show.
In the week ending February 13, only 73.2% of people who went to A&E were seen and subsequently admitted or discharged within the four-hour target, down from 74.4% the previous week, according to figures released by Public Health Scotland.
The Scottish Government aims to ensure 95% of patients are seen to within four hours – a target that has not been met since July 2020.
Of the 23,849 people who attended emergency departments, 498 were left waiting for more than 12 hours, while 1,417 waited longer than eight hours.
Scottish Tory health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said waiting times should be improving with the peak of the Omicron variant of coronavirus having passed.
“It’s unacceptable that more than a quarter of patients had to wait more than four hours to be seen – and intolerable that almost 500 were forced to wait half a day to be seen – because lives will be needlessly lost,” he said.
“Every week, it seems, I call on Humza Yousaf to get to grips with this crisis and devise a coherent plan for tackling it – but nothing changes.
“The Health Secretary appears wedded to his inadequate Covid recovery plan when it’s patently obvious it isn’t fit for purpose.
“Staff on Scotland’s under-resourced A&E front line must be at their wits’ end – they have worked heroically throughout the pandemic yet been let down by the SNP Government.”
Scottish Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said “enough is enough”.
“For months Humza Yousaf has allowed our A&E departments across Scotland to stagger from crisis to crisis as thousands of Scots have waited hours and hours for vital treatment,” she said.
We cannot allow dangerously lengthy waits at A&E to become the new normal
“Staff on the front line have worked tirelessly, but have been continually failed by an SNP Government that has refused to admit that the NHS, our most valued service, is in crisis.
“We cannot allow dangerously lengthy waits at A&E to become the new normal.
“Enough is enough – Humza Yousaf must act to end the chaos in A&E departments before lives are lost.”
Waiting times have shown a “marked improvement” since last year, a spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said.
“Almost three-quarters of patients were seen within the four-hour target and this is reflective of the improvements we are seeing in staff absence and the series of measures implemented to minimise pressures across our A&E services,” she added.
“NHS staff continue to face unprecedented pressures as they work to respond to the pandemic whilst continuing to provide vital treatment and optimal patient care.
“Scotland has the best-performing A&Es in the UK. In fact, Scotland’s A&Es have outperformed those in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for over six years.
“Our NHS staff have worked incredibly hard during the pandemic and they have our thanks for the care they continue to provide the people of Scotland.“
