Ambulance waiting times worsen in almost every local authority

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today called on the SNP Government to finally recognise the pressures on ambulance staff after research by his party revealed that the average waiting times for the two most critical levels of ambulance calls have worsened in nearly every local authority since 2019.

A Scottish Liberal Democrat freedom of information request analysed ambulance wait times for the previous four calendar years across all 32 local authorities. It found that:  

• Between 2019 and 2023, 31 local authorities, including Glasgow, Aberdeen, Fife and Edinburgh, experienced an increase in average waiting times for purple calls, which represent the most serious category of ambulance call outs.
• The longest waiting time for a purple call in 2023 was in Glasgow, where a patient waited 2 hours and 1 minute, followed by Aberdeen City where a patient waited 1 hour and 54 minutes.
• Between 2019 and 2023, 28 local authorities, including Glasgow, Aberdeen, Fife and North Lanarkshire, experienced an increase in average waiting times for red calls, which represent the second most serious category of ambulance call outs.
• The longest waiting time for a red call in 2023 was in Highland, where a patient waited 8 hours and 58 minutes, followed by Aberdeen where a patient waited 8 hours and 55 minutes.
• The longest waiting time for any call in 2023 was 1,066 minutes, or 17 hours.

Mr Cole-Hamilton said:

“If you call an ambulance at a moment of crisis, you want to know that someone will be there in time to help you as best they can. Tragically, this is simply not happening for so many people across Scotland. It is extremely worrying that high risk callers in particular have had to wait more than an hour for help.

“The SNP continuously ignored ambulance staff, who have been warning of pressure cooker conditions for years. Their refusal to listen has caused intolerable pain for patients and put staff under extreme pressure.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats will continue to call for an inquiry into the hundreds of avoidable deaths linked to the emergency care crisis, something which has been obstructed by nationalist MSPs who did not want to know.

“The Health Secretary needs to recognise the pressures that the service is under and look again at what needs to be done to improve life for both patients and staff. Swift action could make all the difference between life and death.”