Number of patients enduring extreme A&E waits doubles in three weeks

Public Health Scotland reported the picture in emergency units had again deteriorated, with the proportion of patients seen within four hours falling from 66.5% to 65.6% last week. 

It was the lowest proportion since the week ending May 14, when it was 64.3%, and followed falls from 71.8% in the week to July 23 and 69% in the week to July 30.

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The data also revealed a marked increase in the number of patients waiting more than eight and 12 hours in the seven days ending August 13.

The number waiting more than eight hours jumped from 2,482 to 2,855, and from 857 to 1,020 for those waiting more than 12 hours, the worst figures for both since May 14.

The number of people waiting more than eight hours has more than doubled, from 1,420 to 2,855, since July 23, as have 12-hour waits, up from 429 to 1,020 in the same period.

In percentage terms, the increase is from 5.6% of patients waiting more than eight hours to 11%, and from 1.7% to 3.9% for patients waiting more than 12 hours.

The target is for 95% of patients to be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours. It has not been met nationally since July 2020.

The data shows the number of patients waiting more than four hours rose from 8,426 to 8,920, which was also the highest figure since the week to May 14.

The declines in performance coincided with the overall number of people presenting at A&E increasing from 25,123 to 25,897.

The worst performing health board last week was NHS Forth Valley, where 50.3% of patients were seen on time, followed by NHS Borders (56.4%) and NHS Lanarkshire (57.4%).

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The Royal College of Emergency Medicine has calculated there will be an excess death for every 1 in 72 patients who spend between eight and 12 hours in an A&E. 

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: "The fact that A&E wait times are worsening before we even get to the autumn is a grim portent of things to come unless the SNP start focussing on the crisis in A&E.

"There is no shortage of goodwill and dedication on the part of NHS staff, but they don’t have the beds, safe staffing and resources they need.

"As health secretary Humza Yousaf comprehensively failed to get to grips with the crisis in our A&E departments, and now his government is not showing the focus needed to address this crisis.

"Michael Matheson must start taking action by dropping his government's opposition to our constructive proposals such as an urgent inquiry into the hundreds of avoidable deaths linked to the emergency care crisis, a staff burnout prevention strategy and a health and social care staff assembly."

Tory MSP and GP Sandesh Gulhane said: “It’s appalling that more than a third of patients are waiting over four hours to be seen in Scotland’s emergency departments – and that the situation is getting worse in high summer.

“These figures are a damming indictment of the SNP’s ongoing mismanagement of our NHS, and make the prospect of winter truly terrifying for our A&E wards.

“Despite the best efforts of my hardworking colleagues, patients are continuing to suffer due to the SNP’s dire workforce planning. We know the tragic consequences of these excess waits – lives being unnecessarily lost.”

Scottish Labour deputy Jackie Baillie added: “The figures clearly show that our A&E crisis continues unabated – with the people of Scotland being put in danger as a result.

“That the number of people having to endure long waits of over eight hours in A&E to be seen and then admitted, transferred or discharged has doubled in only three weeks is nothing short of shocking.”

She called on Health Secretary Michael Matheson to tackle the problem of delayed discharges, saying this was “crippling the NHS”.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We are determined to see improvement in emergency department performance and continue to work closely with the health boards facing the greatest challenges in A&E, to drive down waiting times and improve services for patients and staff.

“Performance is still not where it needs to be and there is continued disparity in performance both between health boards and individual sites.

“Hospital bed occupancy continues to be a major factor impacting on performance which is why we are working to reduce instances of delayed discharge and are continuing to expand our Hospital at Home capacity.”