2023 the worst year in A&E on record as almost 450,000 wait over 4 hours
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton branded Humza Yousaf's NHS Recovery plan "worse than useless" as new analysis from the Scottish Liberal Democrats shows that 2023 was the worst year on record for Scotland's A&E departments as 443,429 people waited over 4 hours.
Analysis of Public Health Scotland figures by the Scottish Liberal Democrats revealed that:
- 2023 saw the most people waiting over 4 hours (443,429) and the worst performance against the target of 95% being seen within 4 hours (66.1%)
- 2023 also saw 141,199 wait over 8 hours in A&E
- Since Humza Yousaf became Health Secretary in 2021, the number waiting over 4 hours has increased from 248,736 in 2021 to 443,429 in 2023
- Waits over 12 hours have increased from 998 in 2016 to 55,955 in 2023
Alex Cole-Hamilton said:
"Humza Yousaf's NHS Recovery Plan has been worse than useless. It was meant to improve conditions for staff and patients in A&E, and across the NHS, but these figures show that we are still moving backwards.
"It beggars belief that not only are hundreds of thousands of patients enduring long waits in A&E, more and more are waiting longer every single year. The SNP have completely failed to tackle this crisis.
"Staff have been ringing the alarm for years over the state of our NHS, but this SNP Government has utterly failed to give them the beds and safe staffing levels they need to do their job. This pressure cooker of constantly deteriorating conditions will lead to mass staff burnout and the Government must act with urgency to prevent this.
"Scotland deserves a government that will take this crisis seriously. Scottish Liberal Democrats would overhaul the NHS Recovery Plan, bring forward an urgent inquiry into the hundreds of avoidable deaths linked to the emergency care crisis and implement measures which will meaningfully tackle burnout among staff."