2024 the worst year on record at A&E

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton has branded the SNP's NHS Recovery Plan a "complete failure" as new analysis from the Scottish Liberal Democrats shows that 2024 was the worst year on record for Scotland's A&E departments as almost 500,000 people waited over the 4 hour target.

Analysis of Public Health Scotland figures by the Scottish Liberal Democrats revealed that:

• 2024 saw the most people waiting over 4 hours (497,142) and the worst performance against the target of 95% being seen within 4 hours (64.0%). In 2016, 93.3% of attendees were seen within 4 hours.
• 176,969 people waited over 8 hours in A&E in 2024, more than 1 in every 8 (12.8%). This is up from just 7,047 (0.5%) in 2016.
• 78,238 people waited over 12 hours at A&E in 2024. This is up from just 998 in 2016.
• Since the SNP's NHS Recovery plan was launched in 2021, the number of people waiting over 12 hours has increased by 519%.

This follows a report by the IFS which found that many measures of NHS performance (including A&E waiting times) are continuing to get worse, rather than recovering.

Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

"The SNP's NHS Recovery plan has been a complete failure. A&E departments have been stuck in a state of perma-crisis ever since it came in and year on year things are only getting worse.

"It is remarkable that since introducing a plan to bring down waits, the number of people waiting half a day at A&E has actually increased six fold. The SNP have completely failed to get to grips with this crisis.

"Staff have been sounding the alarm for years over the conditions in our NHS, but this SNP Government has failed to give them the beds and safe staffing levels they need to do their job and keep people safe. This kind of pressure cooker of constantly deteriorating conditions will only end one way: mass burnout among staff. Action must be taken to prevent this.

"Scottish Liberal Democrats would overhaul the SNP’s failed NHS Recovery Plan, bring forward measures to address burnout among staff and help people leave hospital on time with a care package through a new UK-wide minimum wage for care workers that is £2 higher."