Tuesday 7 October
Politicians must show they’re serious about tackling the crisis in Scottish A&Es, as new analysis from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine suggests that we are heading towards yet another winter of chaos.
The latest performance data for Scottish Emergency Departments, released today (7 October) by Public Health Scotland for August 2025, showed that 5,556 people waited 12 hours or more to be admitted, transferred or discharged from major EDs.
That’s roughly one in every 22 patients and the highest number who experienced this wait for the month of August since records began in 2007.
The data, for major EDs in Scotland, also showed that in August 2025:
- More than one in 10 (14,208) patients waited eight hours or more to be discharged, transferred or admitted – the worst August on record.
- 1,964 beds per day in Scotland were being occupied by people who are deemed healthy enough to be discharged, an increase of 36 on the previous month.
- The proportion of patients being seen within the target of four hours fell again, from 65.8% in August 2024 to 64.7% this year.
Dr Jayne McLaren, RCEM Scotland Vice Chair, said: “These figures should send shivers down the spines of politicians who have yet to publish a tangible plan on how we will tackle the winter months ahead.
“I am dreading winter – and I know many of our members and colleagues feel the same.
“The numbers are for August when, traditionally, doctors and other ED staff would get some respite with less pressure on the system. We have had no such break – summer has been relentless
“Thousands of people, who have come to us because they are seriously hurt or sick, are being forced to endure hours and hours on trolleys and in corridors through no fault of their own. It’s a shocking consequence of a system that is near capacity.
“Unless the Government takes immediate action by putting forward detailed plans on how to tackle the issue, people will continue to bear the brunt of the crisis in Urgent and Emergency Care. This is serious.”
These figures come after RCEM’s recent analysis which showed there were more than 800 deaths associated with long A&E waits before admission in Scotland last year.
Visual representation if the data and longer-term trends are available on the RCEM Website.