The number of Scots waiting more than 12 hours in an A&E ward is 99 times higher than in 2011, a shock report has found.
Analysis by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) was last night seized on by opposition parties who claimed the SNP Government had “failed patients and staff across Scotland”.
Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour health spokeswoman, said: “This damning analysis lays bare the disastrous scale of the crisis in our NHS. The SNP’s dangerous incompetence is putting lives at risk and letting down hardworking NHS staff.”
The report found just 784 people waited more than 12 hours in A&E wards in 2011 – but by last year this number had surged to 76,346.
More than three times as many people waited over 12 hours last year alone than in the full decade up to 2020, the figures show.
The RCEM said one in every 18 patients who entered through the doors of an A&E in 2024 waited more than a dozen hours. It said high waits were “unacceptable” and “dangerous” and told ministers that tackling them must be a priority.
The figures from Public Health Scotland show wait times had begun to increase in 2016 before exploding during the Covid pandemic.
Dr John-Paul Loughrey, RCEM vice president for Scotland, said: “When you look at the data over the past 14 years the reality of the number of people now facing extremely long waits in this country is shockingly clear.
“The figure from 2011 shows just a few hundred people waited 12 hours or longer. But astonishingly last year, this figure was well over 75,000.
“It is unacceptable, and it is dangerous – and many of those patients will be stuck on trolleys receiving so called ‘corridor care’ – because we just don’t have enough in-patient beds.
“And for those who keep saying Scotland’s performance is the best in the UK – that may well be true – but is being the ‘least worst’ is not something to be lauding?
“We cannot go on like this. Focusing on reducing elective waits is clearly important, but it cannot be the only area.
“Lives are being put at risk by these long waits and ending them must be a political priority.”
Baillie said: “Thousands of Scots are being left in agony in waiting rooms and corridors for hours on end as their condition declines. Despite plenty of warm words and empty promises, successive SNP Health Secretaries and First Ministers have failed to get to grips with this crisis.
“Our NHS needs a change in direction and only Scottish Labour can deliver it – by supporting NHS staff, easing the pressure on hospitals and finally tackling delayed discharge.”
Alex Cole-Hamilton, Scottish Lib Dems leader, said: “It could not be clearer: the SNP have failed patients and staff across Scotland.
“Despite NHS staff warning of these conditions for years, SNP governments have repeatedly failed to give them the beds and safe staffing they need.
“We’ve seen record numbers of people unable to leave hospital on time because of the crisis in community care. It shows that you cannot fix the NHS crisis without fixing the social care crisis. Ultimately, a sustained, long-term plan for our NHS is going to require a change of government.”
Neil Gray, the Health Secretary, said: “Our A&E departments have continued to face significant pressure but this is not confined to Scotland.
“The Scottish Government is determined to drive improvements, reduce waiting lists and tackle delayed discharge, all of which will improve the flow of patients through hospital and ease pressures on A&E.
“I met with the RCEM earlier this week and took the opportunity to listen and provide updates on the action we are taking to support improvements and reduce delays for patients.
“If passed by Parliament, our Budget will provide an additional £200 million to help backlogs, improve capacity and remove blockages that keep patients in hospital longer than necessary, ensuring we can deliver the best possible service for patients.”
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