Health Secretary Neil Gray has been told to take “real action” over “appalling” statistics which showed emergency department waits worsened across every metric in Scotland.
Just 62.7% – or 16,660 patients – were seen and subsequently admitted, transferred or discharged within the four-hour target time in the week ending March 31.
That is down from 65.3% – or 17,588 patients – the previous week, according to figures from Public Health Scotland (PHS).
Patients waiting longer than half a day in A&E also worsened in the week ending March 31, with 1,44, or 5.4%, of attendances taking more than 12 hours to be treated – up from 1,348 or 5% the previous week.
Meanwhile, attendances of more than eight hours also increased to 3,455 (13%), up from 2,227 (12%) the previous week.
In the most recent week, there were 26,556 unplanned attendances at Scottish emergency departments, a slight decrease on the previous 26,921.
Scottish Tory health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane has accused the Scottish Government of “appalling mismanagement”.
He said: “The SNP’s appalling mismanagement of Scotland’s NHS is clear for all to see in these catastrophic A&E stats.
“It is completely unacceptable that well into spring these already-deplorable waiting times are getting markedly worse. But it is the legacy of dire workforce planning by a succession of SNP health secretaries and Humza Yousaf’s flimsy Covid recovery plan.
“The fact that well over a third of Scots are enduring waits of more than four hours, and almost 1,500 patients in the space of just a week are languishing for over half a day in our emergency wards, is nothing short of appalling. Sadly, these unacceptable delays will lead to tragic and avoidable deaths.
“It is deeply worrying that 60% of patients at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary are waiting more than four hours – the worst figures the hospital has recorded since the depths of winter.
“Neil Gray has inherited an absolute mess from his disgraced predecessor Michael Matheson. He must now take real action to address this crisis – and he should start by adopting the proposals in our health paper which would deliver a modern, efficient and local health service.”
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said the Scottish Government had “failed to help A&E recover”, adding: “Patients and staff alike deserve better than this, so we urgently need to see meaningful action taken to reverse this situation.”
Scottish Labour health spokeswoman Dame Jackie Baillie said: “Neil Gray inherited an NHS in turmoil thanks to the mismanagement of his predecessors – including Humza Yousaf – but he cannot waste any more time getting to grips with this crisis.
“We need urgent action to ease the pressure on A&E and keep patients safe, including support for staff and a real plan to tackle delayed discharge.”
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “The pressures being felt by our A&E departments is not unique to Scotland, with similar challenges being felt by emergency departments throughout the UK and beyond.
“We know that the health service remains under sustained pressure and waiting times are longer than we want them to be for too many patients.
“We will continue to work collaboratively with health boards to develop services and support sustained improvement.“
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