Long waits in Scotland’s A&E rise despite patient numbers falling

The latest Emergency Department performance figures – released by Public Health Scotland – which cover June 2025 reveal that despite a five per cent decrease in patients, the number waiting 12 hours increased.

Some 9.7 per cent of patients waited more than eight hours in A&E in June, according to PHS. That is up from 9 per cent the previous month but down from the 11.4 per cent average for 2024.

The number of people waiting more than 12 hours also rose, accounting for 3.9 per cent of A&E attendances – up from 3.5 per cent in May but down from the 5.1 per cent average for 2024.

Overall, 70.8 per cent of Scots were seen within the four-hour target, compared to 71.8 per cent the month before and the 68.4 per cent average for last year.

RCEM Vice President for Scotland Dr Fiona Hunter said: “These figures clearly evidence that the issues in our Emergency Departments are not caused by too many people attending.

“In June the number of people coming to our departments fell, but yet performance across every measure worsened when compared to the previous month.

“Most worrying is, that despite fewer attendances, thousands of our patients are still enduring extremely long waits. And we know that those who do are more likely to be the most unwell, often with multiple and complex needs. A fact that is unacceptable, and dangerous.

“The crisis in A&E is something our communities are deeply worried about. Politicians should respond to those concerns now and address these issues. Otherwise in a few short months we will be staring down the barrel of another awful winter where patient safety will again be put at risk.”

Health Secretary Neil Gray, inset, said: “Our core A&E departments have consistently been the best performing in the UK over the past decade. We are determined to drive improvements and remain in close contact with health boards to ensure they have the support they need to deal with the sustained pressure we are seeing.

“We are investing £200 million to reduce waiting times, improve hospital flow, and minimise delayed discharges. Building on success already seen last year, we expect the additional funding committed to result in more than 300,000 appointments and procedures this year.

“To help relieve pressure on teams we will deliver direct access to specialist Frailty teams in every Emergency Department by summer 2025 and expand Hospital at Home to at least 2,000 beds by the end of 2026.”

Meanwhile, it has been revealed nearly 2,000 people experienced delayed discharge from hospital in June, according to PHS figures . Some 1,857 people were delayed that month – slightly higher than the 1,840 figure recorded in May but less than April (1,868). The average length of delay was 28 days, the same as the month before but lower than April at 29.