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More than one third of patients facing long waits in Scotland, as Emergency Care remains in severe crisis

19 April 2022

Responding to the latest weekly Emergency Department performance figures in Scotland Dr John Thomson, Vice President of The Royal College of Emergency Medicine Scotland, said:

“We are continuing to see severely poor performance in the Emergency Care system. Staff are becoming more and more burnt out; the appalling crisis in Emergency Care is seriously distressing. The public are extremely worried about these long waiting times, and rightly so, because patients are coming to harm. Staff continue doing all they can to deliver care and keep patients safe, but it is incredibly challenging.

“It is a desperate situation, a result of widespread shortages of staff and beds throughout the system and a crisis in social care. Despite exiting winter and entering spring, the situation remains dire; we have never faced a crisis worse than this. The intense workload is breaking staff, and the distressing circumstances are breaking their morale.

“Patients continue to face seriously long waits, and we continue to state that this crisis is worse than ever, and that patients are coming to harm. The government cannot let this deteriorate further, staff and patients urgently need meaningful action now to tackle the desperate situation in Emergency Care and address the widespread staff shortages, the bed shortages, and the social care crisis.”

Notes to editor

The latest weekly Emergency Department performance figures for Scotland show:

  • There were 22,774 attendances at Emergency Departments
  • Four-hour performance was 66.2%, the lowest ever on record
  • 7,705 patients waited more than four-hours in an Emergency Department
    • More than 3 in ten patients were waiting for more than four hours in an Emergency Department
  • 2,373 patients waited more than eight-hours in an Emergency Department
    • Nearly one in six patients were waiting for more than eight-hours in an Emergency Department
  • 944 patients waited more than 12-hours in an Emergency Department
    • One in twenty-five patients were waiting more than 12-hours in an Emergency Department
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