Waiting times to reach the NHS 24 helpline by phone have sky-rocketed by two thirds in a year.
A Freedom of Information Request showed that average wait times for the service rose from round 12 minutes in 2023 to 21 minutes in 2024. This marks a 67 per cent increase in a year.
The longest wait was over four hours. One caller waited for four hours, four minutes and 24 seconds in September. Another caller also faced a wait time of four hours and 30 seconds in July.
Nearly 105,000 calls to the helpline were abandoned before an operator could respond in the first 10 months of 2024. This was less than the near 127,000 which were abandoned in 2023.
January was the worst month of 2024 for wait times overall. Nearly 12,000 calls ended before being answered and there was an average wait time of 21 minutes and 10 seconds.
The figures come from Scottish Conservative Freedom of Information requests. The party’s health spokesman Sandesh Gulhane described the sitution as “shocking”.
He said: “The SNP’s neglect of our health service over the last 17 years means waiting times to be connected to NHS 24 are skyrocketing.
“Chronic mismanagement from successive SNP health secretaries means average waiting times for those desperate for help have now hit over 20 minutes.
“One shocking case saw a Scot having to hang on for over four hours, while over 100,000 patients abandoned their calls altogether.
“The increase in waiting times for NHS 24 is mirrored across our health service under the SNP.
“A&E waiting times are worsening by the day, delayed discharge figures have reached an all-time high, and cancer waiting time targets have not been met for over a decade.
“Neil Gray must focus on fixing the systemic issues in our health service so more funding can be spent on the frontline where it will make the most difference to patients.”
The Scottish Government said NHS 24 has an online service as well as the phone line.
Health Secretary Gray said: “I’m very grateful to our hard-working NHS 24 staff who will continue to handle calls, 24 hours a day, throughout a busy festive period.
“There are several NHS 24 digital options that offer clinically assured health advice, and callers have the option to use the NHS 24 callback service during busier periods.
“NHS 24 is committed to improving call waiting times, especially during peak periods when demand is high.
“We continue to support and invest in the service, which now has a record number of call handlers to support with inevitable increases in demand over the winter period.”
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