Read them and weep. Below are the official statistics of how long people are having to wait for treatment at A&E units in Scotland’s hospitals.
Accident and emergency
Accredited official statistics
Main points
All A&E sites
This section gives you a summary of the latest available information on the number of people attending A&E services, how long they are waiting and performance against the 4-hour access standard, at Scotland level.
This summary is updated monthly on the first Tuesday of the month, with around a 5-week lag.
Full trends and further information such as demographic breakdowns are available in our interactive charts.
During September 2024
- Attendances
- There were 134,307 unplanned attendances at A&E in NHSScotland (compared to 133,562 the previous month, and 127,395 monthly average for 2023).
- Compliance with the 4-hour A&E access standard
- 93,234 (69.4%) of A&E attendances were seen and resulted in a subsequent admission, transfer or discharge within 4 hours (compared to 92,721 (69.4%) the previous month, and 88,637 (69.6%) monthly average for 2023).
Compliance has been below 80% since summer 2021.
- Attendances of over 8 hours
- 13,216 (10.1%) patients spent more than 8 hours in A&E (compared to 13,373 (10.3%) the previous month, and 12,287 (9.9%) monthly average for 2023).
- Attendances of over 12 hours
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5,449 (4.2%) patients spent more than 12 hours in A&E (compared to 5,463 (4.2%) the previous month, and 4,914 (4%) monthly average for 2023).
Scottish Labour’s Health spokesperson Jackie Baillie, right, said: “Just yesterday, Scotland’s ambulance chief warned that overcrowding is so bad that patients are being forced to wait not only in corridors but ambulances themselves.“This logjam means that not only are there thousands of Scots waiting more than 12 hours to get treated, but countless others are forced to wait longer for an ambulance that they desperately need.
“This SNP government must reduce A&E waiting times before winter pressures make the situation even worse.
“Scottish Labour will invest in NHS recruitment, tackle delayed discharge and improve access to GP surgeries to ensure that those patients forced to use emergency services get the speedy treatment they need.”
Weekly A&E, w/e 27 October 2024 — 3,487 (13.3%) patients spent more than 8 hours in an Emergency Department and 1,629 (6.2%) patients spent more than 12 hours in an Emergency Department
Speaking at the Scottish Ambulance Service Annual Review on Monday, Chief Executive Michael Dickson warned that ambulances were “not hospital beds”.
“Ambulances are not hospitals. It’s not a place you want to spend many hours in. This has been a static problem. I recognise the frustrations crews have spoken to me about. It’s demoralising for them.”
Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton, left, said: “Under the SNP the NHS is teetering on the brink, staff are overwhelmed, and thousands are waiting far too long to be seen.
“A&E has been stuck in a state of permanent crisis for multiple years, it’s now practically the norm thanks to SNP mismanagement. We need to see the Scottish Government finally take some action before the situation worsens this winter.
“Scottish Liberal Democrats would overhaul the SNP’s failed NHS Recovery Plan, get you fast access to GPs and help people leave hospital on time through a new UK-wide minimum wage for care workers that is £2 higher.”