Record number of patients facing long waits in Scotland's A&Es

The latest figures show that the number waiting 12 hours or more rose from 1,015 to 1,022 - the highest total since records began in 2015

Record numbers of patients have had long waits in Scotland's emergency departments, new figures show.

Public Health Scotland found that 2,627 patients spent more than eight hours in A&E last week, and 1,022 of them were there for more than 12 hours.

However, there a slight improvement in the percentage of patients seen within four hours - the government's main target for wards - to 68.4%.

Doctors have said hundreds of patients have died due to hospital delays.

Health boards point to record numbers of patients being treated for Covid along with staff shortages as putting unprecedented pressure on services.

And the Scottish government said the figures appeared to be stabilising despite continuing high levels of Covid transmission.

• Hundreds dying due to A&E delays, doctors say

The latest statistics from Public Health Scotland showed a slight drop in the number of people attending A&E in the week ending 27 March, from 25,506 to 25,264.

This coincided with an improvement in the percentage of patients seen within four hours, from 66.2% to 68.% - although this is still the third worst on record, and far below the government's 95% target.

And the number of patients experiencing longer waits increased slightly, with the number spending more than eight hours in an emergency department before being admitted, discharged or transferred rising from 2,614 to 2,627.

Meanwhile, the number waiting 12 hours or more rose from 1,015 to 1,022 - the highest total since records began in 2015.

In March, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine estimated that there had been 240 avoidable deaths since the start of the year, blaming long waits for a hospital bed.

And on Tuesday, the group's Scottish vice president Dr John Thomson said the situation was "unsustainable and dangerous".

He added: "The health system in Scotland is ceasing to function as it should. Patients are at risk of severe harm and staff are facing stress, distress, burnout and moral injury on a daily basis."

Opposition parties also said A&E wards were in crisis, with the Scottish Conservatives saying "we can't go on like this".

Scottish Labour said urgent action was needed "to tackle this crisis and save lives", and the Scottish Lib Dems called for an urgent inquiry into avoidable deaths, saying that "NHS patients and staff are in dire need of new hope".

A Scottish government spokesman said new infection control guidance had been issued to health boards in the past week which could help ease pressures on hospitals and improve patients flows.

He added: "The latest weekly figures show performance in our A&E departments has slightly improved, although we know this may fluctuate in the weeks ahead as the unprecedented impact of the pandemic continues to take its toll.

"We are still seeing high levels of Covid transmission and people in our hospitals with the virus, but there are some indications that numbers are stabilising."

What is happening in my area?

• NHS Ayrshire and Arran - 65.8% of patients seen within four hours; 303 waited more than eight hours, 171 of whom waited more than 12 hours.

• NHS Borders - 59.6% of patients seen within four hours; 116 waited more than eight hours, 85 of whom waited more than 12 hours.

• NHS Dumfries and Galloway - 82% of patients seen within four hours; 39 waited more than eight hours, of whom 13 waited more than 12 hours.

• NHS Fife - 72.4% of patients seen within four hours; 96 waited more than eight hours, of whom 25 waited more than 12 hours.

• NHS Forth Valley - 46.6% of patients seen within four hours; 210 waited more than eight hours, of whom 57 waited more than 12 hours.

• NHS Grampian - 68.7% of patients seen within four hours; 126 waited more than eight hours, of whom 27 waited more than 12 hours.

• NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde - 69% of patients seen within four hours; 539 waited more than eight hours, of whom 167 waited more than 12 hours.

• NHS Highland - 79.8% of patients seen within four hours; 46 waited more than eight hours, of whom 11 waited more than 12 hours.

• NHS Lanarkshire - 59% of patients seen within four hours; 611 waited more than eight hours, of whom 199 waited more than 12 hours.

• NHS Lothian - 66.1% of patients seen within four hours; 533 waited more than eight hours, of whom 267 waited more than 12 hours.

• NHS Orkney - 93% of patients seen within four hours; two waited more than eight hours.

• NHS Shetland - 98.3% of patients seen within four hours; none waited more than eight hours.

• NHS Tayside - 92% of patients seen within four hours; five waited more than eight hours.

• NHS Western Isles - 94.3% of patients seen within four hours; one waited more than eight hours.