A&E waiting time performance falls as 72% of patients seen within four hours

More than 6,000 patients had to wait longer than four hours for the week ending January 2.

The Omicron wave has put hospitals under pressure (Dominic Lipinski/PA) (PA Wire)

A&E waiting time performance in Scottish hospitals has fallen in the latest data, with 72% of patients being seen within four hours.

For the week ending January 2, some 6,198 patients had to wait longer than fours hours, while 299 had to wait longer than 12 hours.

Many hospitals have come under severe pressure during the Omicron wave of coronavirus. Last week, patients in the greater Glasgow area were told to avoid A&E departments unless their condition was life-threatening.

Performance against the national four-hour target stood at 80% for the week ending December 26, statistics from Public Health Scotland show.

Dr Sandesh Gulhane said the Covid recovery plan was ‘paltry’ (Fraser Bremner) (PA Wire)

It has dipped below 70% twice – in mid-October and early December.

The Scottish Government’s target of 95% of patients being attended to within four hours has not been met since July 2020.

Responding to the figures, Scottish Conservative health spokesman, Dr Sandesh Gulhane, said: “It may be a new year but it’s clear the Health Secretary still has no new strategy for tackling the crisis in Scotland’s emergency wards.

“These figures are unacceptable and it’s clear Humza Yousaf’s paltry Covid recovery plan isn’t fit for purpose.

“Despite the wonderful support of UK armed forces, our under-resourced A&E departments simply can’t cope with the huge demands being placed upon them – and the blame for that lies squarely with the SNP Government.

“When Scotland’s largest health board – Greater Glasgow and Clyde – is pleading with patients to stay away from A&E unless their condition is life-threatening, the Health Secretary simply has to wake up and get a grip of his brief.”