by Bill Heaney
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has criticised the SNP for presiding over thousands of people waiting hours at A&E, huge numbers of patients marooned in hospital, long waits for mental health care a
nd worrying vacancies amid nursing and midwifery staff.
New figures published today reveal:
- This week, 3,574 people waited over 8 hours at A&E, while 1,500 waited more than 12 hours.
- In April 2026, 1,950 people were marooned in hospital due to their discharge being delayed.
- At the end of March, more than 2,800 adults, children and young people who were waiting or had started treatment at the end of the quarter were waiting more than a year.
- As at the end of March, there are 2,710 vacancies among nursing and midwifery staff.
On A&E waiting times, Alex said: “The fact that there were virtually no 12-hour waits when the SNP first took power shows just how much they have failed.
“To cut these horrific waits, we need to fix the broken care system. The gaps in community care are a bottleneck that’s causing 2,000 people a night to be marooned in hospital when they don’t need or want to be there.
“You simply cannot fix the NHS without fixing social care.”
On delayed discharge, Alex said: “Lots of these patients are medically ready to leave hospital but are prevented from doing so because of shortage of care workers and care packages.
“The SNP promised to get on top of this problem a decade ago, but it’s now costing the NHS an eyewatering £1.2 million a day.
“The only way to fix these delays is to fix the broken social care system- my party made that a major priority in our election campaign.
“We want to boost pay and conditions, establish clear career pathways so more people choose to work in care and create new housing reserved for key workers.”
On mental health waiting times, Alex said: “On the SNP’s watch, people are facing endless waits for mental health care, which only risks problems getting worse.
“Scottish Liberal Democrats have proposed training and recruiting more professionals. We want to put them close to where you live in locations like your local surgery and new walk-in mental health centres.
“Scotland deserves world-class mental health services and the Scottish Liberal Democrats have a realistic plan to end years of SNP neglect.”
On nursing vacancies, Alex said: “The problems with vacancies can be traced all the way back to Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP cutting training places and claiming that was ‘sensible’.
Knackered: A nurse at the end of her shift
“With staff now run ragged, they are struggling to provide the high-quality care patients need, and many are reaching for the door.
“Scottish Liberal Democrats want better for our nurses and midwives so we can deliver first-rate healthcare to everyone. There needs to be a proper 10-year workforce plan for the NHS and care to get on top of what they need.”
And Jackie Baillie puts the boot in …
Commenting on monthly A&E statistics for April 2026, which show 6,394 people waited more than 12 hours and 15,389 people waited more than eight hours, Scottish Labour Health spokesperson Jackie Baillie, left, said: “Every day Scots are facing dangerously long waits in A&E because the SNP failed to get to grips with this crisis.
“Staff are exhausted from being asked to do the impossible and patients are sick of being asked to accept the unacceptable.
“We’ve had enough empty promises – we need real action from John Swinney and the SNP to give Scotland an NHS it can rely on.”
DELAYED DISCHARGE
On delayed discharge statistics for April 2026, which show delayed discharge levels increased with 57,067 bed days lost that month, Jackie Baillie said: “It’s been more than a decade since the SNP promised to end delayed discharge, but things are getting worse instead of better.
“Delayed discharge is piling pressure on hospitals, costing taxpayers millions, and leaving patients stuck in limbo waiting for the care they need.
“The SNP need to step up and tackle this crisis by properly supporting our overstretched social care system.”
WORKFORCE
On the latest NHS workforce statistics, which show there are still 2,710 nursing and midwifery vacancies in Scotland, Jackie Baillie said: “Staffing shortages are piling pressure on our NHS, but the SNP has nothing to offer.
“We need a real workforce plan to support hardworking NHS staff and make sure services can cope.
“More of the same won’t cut it – the SNP must do right by NHS patients and staff and deliver the action needed to fill vacancies and prepare for the future.”
PLANNED OPS
On cancelled and planned operations statistics for April 2026, which show the number of planned operations is still 7.7 per cent lower than pre-pandemic levels, Jackie Baillie said: “Hundreds of thousands of Scots are stuck on endless NHS waiting lists, but the number of operations taking place has plummeted since 2019.
“During the election, we heard plenty of warm words about the NHS from John Swinney and the SNP – now they need to deliver on them.“The SNP must put in place a real catch-up plan to get hospitals back on track and get patients the treatment they need.”
CAMHS
On CAMHS statistics for the quarter ending March 2026, which show 36.5 per cent of referrals were rejected that quarter, Scottish Labour Mental Health spokesperson Joe Long said: “It is deeply concerning that so many children and young people are being turned away from services in their hour of need.
“The Scottish Government need to investigate why the number of rejected referrals is so high and ensure young people are not allowed to fall through the cracks when they need support.”