7 April 2026
As thousands of patients each month in Scotland are forced to wait more than half a day in Emergency Departments (ED) before being discharged, transferred or admitted, whoever forms the next Scottish Government must make this healthcare crisis an emergency.
That’s the key message from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine today (7 April 2026), following the publication of new ED performance data from Public Health Scotland.
A total of 7,967 patients, or one in 13, people attending a major (type 1) ED in Scotland in February waited 12 or more hours before being admitted, discharged or transferred.
That’s an unacceptable proportion – and the worst of any February on record. In February 2025, the figure stood 1,895 lower, which was already dangerously high.
Less than a decade ago, in February 2019, just 344 patients waited that long across the entire month, despite more people attending EDs.
Dr Fiona Hunter, RCEM Vice President for Scotland, said: “Long waits in EDs are dangerous for patients and, for the sickest patients who require admission into a ward, are associated with increased risk of death.
“The state of our departments is utterly dire. This winter has left our members, and the departments they work in, on their knees. We are crying out for help.”
Driving this breakdown in patient flow are inefficiencies and blockages throughout the system. One of the greatest causes is delayed discharges.
PHS’s new data showed that in February, a daily average of 1,984 patients were occupying hospital beds despite being medically fit to leave.
Dr Hunter continued: “If the ‘back door’ blockages in our hospital, causing patients to be stuck in beds they do not need, it would ease pressure across the system – particularly in ED.
“Addressing the elephant in the room, next month’s elections: we call on all political parties to bring patient flow to the top of the agenda.
“We need whoever forms the next Scottish Government to tackle delayed discharge, end ED overcrowding and help us make the abhorrent practice of corridor care a thing of the past.”
Today’s figures also showed that, for February 2026:
- 16,041 (one in six patients) waited eight or more hours to be admitted, discharged or transferred in a major ED
- The proportion of patients waiting less than the target of four hours stood at 62.4%, far lower than the 95% system target
- 105,647 people attended ED, a slight increase compared to last February, but a reduction compared to February 2019, when patient flow was substantially better
Further information and data can be found here.