A&E performance 'lowest since Beast from the East'

Performance at A&E units in Scotland has hit its lowest monthly level since the Beast from the East storm last March, NHS figures show.

Out of 137,879 people using A&E in December 2018, 89.6% were seen admitted, transferred or discharged within the four-hour target time.

Of these, 199 (0.2%) waited more than 12 hours and 1,361 (1%) waited more than eight hours.

The December figures are the worst against time targets since March 2018.

During that month, health services came under pressure from cases caused by extreme snow storms and ice in a weather front dubbed the Beast from the East.

Statistics from NHS Scotland's Information Services Division showed 87.9% of people attending A&E last March were seen within four hours.

The December figures are down slightly from the 91.3% recorded the previous month and are also lower than the 92.6% performance in December 2017.

During December 2018, slightly more than a quarter of attendances (26.7%) led to an admission to hospital.