2 December, 2025
The Scottish government must take urgent action on overcrowding and delayed discharges, or Emergency Departments (EDs) in Scotland will be completely swamped – and patients will be the ones who suffer.
ED performance figures, released today (2 December 2025) by Public Health Scotland (PHS) for October 2025, showed that one in 16 (7,362) patients waited 12 or more hours before being admitted, transferred or discharged in that month.
That is the same proportion as last October, which was the worst since records began in 2007 for 12-hour waits.
The figures also showed:
- 16,659 patients, or 14.1% of all attendances, waited eight or more hours, the worst of any October on record, and an increase of 1,211 on last year
- Only 62.8% of patients were seen within four hours at major (Type-1) Emergency Departments, which is the worst four-hour performance for any October since records began and far below the target of 95%
- There was an average of 1,981 beds each day occupied by patients medically fit to be discharged
These figures come shortly after the publication of the Scottish government’s winter plan, in which it pledged £20m to tackle delayed discharges across the devolved nation.
Dr Fiona Hunter, RCEM Vice President for Scotland, said: “The figures for October demonstrate the unacceptable pressures our departments are under, and just how bad things are as we go into winter.
“Now, seasonal pressures such as flu are beginning to hit EDs and the system is starting to crack under pressure, which means patients and staff are suffering. And we are only in the early stages of winter so it will likely become even worse for patients if nothing changes.
“As our hospitals deal with the inevitable strains and stresses on vital resources that the colder weather brings we’ll once again see the consequences of the failure to properly tackle the issues EDs face; overcrowding, long delays and avoidable deaths.
“The number of patients experiencing the longest waits is utterly unacceptable and something must change. Clinicians, through no fault of their own, are struggling to provide our patients with the care they deserve and need.
“Last month, we welcomed the government’s £20 million funding announcement to boost social care capacity this winter, and its accompanying plan for the health service to tackle the cold months.
“This showed that the government understood the issue. But we need that understanding to translate into further meaningful short and long-term action. Urgent action is needed to ensure that health boards can make the improvements that are needed to improve patient flow and tackle delayed discharges.
“Our EDs will only get through the coldest months if the government steps in – or we all need to brace ourselves for a truly ugly winter.”