A&E waiting times have improved across Scotland, with 70 per cent of patients seen within four hours. 

While still far short of the Scottish Government's target that 95% of all patients to be seen and subsequently admitted or discharged within four hours, it is up from 64% the week before and is the highest proportion since May 2022. 

READ MORE: 6,362 people waited more than 24 hours in Scotland’s A&Es last year

The figures from Public Health Scotland statistics showed that 6,435 people spent four hours or more in A&E in the week ending January 22 – down from 7,423 the previous week and from a high of 11,493 in mid-December.

There were also significant decreases in the number of people waiting more than eight hours, down from 3,012 to 2,331. While the number of people stuck in casualty for more than 12 hours dipped from 1,501 to 1,031. 

However, there's a stark difference between the figures for this week, and for the same week last year. 

Just 968 patients waited more than eight hours in the week ending 23 January 2022, while only 303 waited over 12. 

According to a study published in the Emergency Medicine Journal, spending 8-12 hours in A&E between arrival and admission to a ward increases the risk of death within 30 days by 16%—equivalent to one extra death for every 72 patients. 

READ MORE: Humza Yousaf: I have never considered quitting over record A&E waits

Overall, for this most recent week, attendances were up slightly, from 29,580 to 21,517.

The figures showed that two hospitals treated fewer than half of A&E patients within the four hour target – with just 40.1% of patients seen within this time at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, and 45.9% of patients at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.

While health minister Humza Yousaf said that the figures were "encouraging" he said the NHS was still facing its "most challenging winter in its history."

He stated: “Waits of over eight hours have gone down by around 53% since the recent peak over the holiday period, with 12-hour waits decreasing by 59%.

“Performance over four hours is the best we have seen since last May, this is welcome and recent progress is a testament to the exceptional efforts of NHS staff.”

Mr Yousaf continued: “We are doing everything we can to help the health service through the remainder of the most challenging winter in its history.

“We are providing £8 million to Boards to utilise 300 new care beds to increase capacity and alleviate delayed discharge pressures and will increase NHS24 staffing to help cope with rises in demand.

“As part of our nationwide approach on delayed discharge, patients who no longer need to be in hospital will be urgently reassessed and those clinically safe to be discharged will be safely moved home or to an interim placement in a care home – freeing up beds for those most in need.”

Labour health spokesperson Jackie Baillie said while the latest figures were “an improvement on the dismal winter A&E stats”, she added that “the fact remains that our NHS is in crisis with thousands waiting too long for treatment”.

Ms Baillie said this meant that “patient and staff wellbeing is still at risk, lives are being lost and delayed discharge is at breaking point”.

She added: “The SNP must end delayed discharge, which causes capacity problems with a lack of available beds, and stop this crisis once and for all.

“They must also invest further in primary care and tackle illnesses before they get serious. Health inequalities are widening under the SNP’s watch, and they must tackle this issue head-on.”