Call for Swinney to act on A&E waits

INCOMING first minister John Swinney has been urged to take “meaningful action” to tackle waiting times in hospital accident and emergency departments.

It came after the number of patients waiting longer than the target time reached its highest total for more than a year in March.

Data from Public Health Scotland (PHS) showed A&E departments dealt with 135,207 patients in March, with just over two-thirds (67.4%) of them being either admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours.

However, 44,061 patients spent longer than the target time in A&E over the month – the highest total since December 2022. The statistics for March showed more than one in 10 patients (11%) took eight hours or more to be either admitted, transferred or discharged, with a total of 14,615 people in this category.

There were also 5816 patients – 4.4% cases in A&E – who were there for at least 12 hours. The Scottish Government target is to have 95% of all patients in A&E being admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours.

THE average number of beds occupied by patients delayed from leaving hospital reached its highest level in four months in March, according to the latest figures.

Public Health Scotland data showed that, on average, 1892 beds were occupied each day by patients clinically ready to leave hospital but unable to do so, for reasons such as a lack of social care packages or family and carer issues. This was the highest level since November 2023 when it was 1894.

The number of people delayed in hospital decreased slightly to 1910 in March, down from 1914 in February but up from 1860 in January.

In March, 58,646 days were spent in hospital by people whose discharge was delayed. This was a 9% increase on the same month in 2023 (54,046).

The average length of delay in March was 24 days, up

Separate figures covering the last week of April showed that of the 26,359 patients who attended at A&E, 64.5% were admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours – down from 65.8% the previous week.

A total of 9361 patients waited more than four hours in the week ending April 28, including 3263 who were there for eight hours or more and 1500 who were there for at least half a day.

Health Secretary Neil Gray accepted that waiting times are “longer than we want them to be for too many patients”.

He said: “The pressure being felt by our A&E departments is not unique to Scotland, with similar challenges being felt right across the UK.”

Scottish LibDem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “With a new first minister taking office this week, this needs to be a turning point for the crisis in our A&E departments. We need to finally see meaningful action.”

Scottish Conservative health spokesperson Dr Sandesh Gulhane claimed: “A&E departments are in permanent crisis on the SNP’s watch and they have no plan to fix this situation.” from February and January – 22 days – and down from 29 days in December 2023.

Health Secretary Neil Gray said: “The health and social care system continues to face pressure due to a number of factors, including the availability of workforce and suitable care placements, and increased levels of frailty and acuity, likely worsened by the impact of the pandemic.

“The Scottish Government is continuing to work with NHS boards and health and social care partnerships to reduce delays in people leaving hospital.

“We have put in place the delayed discharge and hospital occupancy action plan, that seeks to create the necessary capacity to deal with emerging pressures, and are also investing in hospital at home, with the aim of reducing acute admissions and allowing people to return home sooner.”