Latest news with #FionaHunter
Scotsman
5 days ago
- Health
- Scotsman
Long waits in Scotland's A&E rise despite patient numbers falling
Long waits are increasing in Scotland's A&Es Almost one in 10 waited more than eight hours to be seen in A&E Sign up to our Scotsman Money newsletter, covering all you need to know to help manage your money. Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The number of Scots experiencing long waits in the country's emergency departments has risen, the most recent monthly figures have shown. The latest Emergency Department performance figures – released by Public Health Scotland – which cover June 2025 reveal that despite a five per cent decrease in patients, the number waiting 12 hours increased. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Some 9.7 per cent of patients waited more than eight hours in A&E in June, according to PHS. That is up from 9 per cent the previous month but down from the 11.4 per cent average for 2024. Health Secretary Neil Gray. The number of people waiting more than 12 hours also rose, accounting for 3.9 per cent of A&E attendances – up from 3.5 per cent in May but down from the 5.1 per cent average for 2024. Overall, 70.8 per cent of Scots were seen within the four-hour target, compared to 71.8 per cent the month before and the 68.4 per cent average for last year. RCEM Vice President for Scotland Dr Fiona Hunter said: 'These figures clearly evidence that the issues in our Emergency Departments are not caused by too many people attending. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'In June the number of people coming to our departments fell, but yet performance across every measure worsened when compared to the previous month. 'Most worrying is, that despite fewer attendances, thousands of our patients are still enduring extremely long waits. And we know that those who do are more likely to be the most unwell, often with multiple and complex needs. A fact that is unacceptable, and dangerous. 'The crisis in A&E is something our communities are deeply worried about. Politicians should respond to those concerns now and address these issues. Otherwise in a few short months we will be staring down the barrel of another awful winter where patient safety will again be put at risk.' Health Secretary Neil Gray, inset, said: 'Our core A&E departments have consistently been the best performing in the UK over the past decade. We are determined to drive improvements and remain in close contact with health boards to ensure they have the support they need to deal with the sustained pressure we are seeing. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We are investing £200 million to reduce waiting times, improve hospital flow, and minimise delayed discharges. Building on success already seen last year, we expect the additional funding committed to result in more than 300,000 appointments and procedures this year. 'To help relieve pressure on teams we will deliver direct access to specialist Frailty teams in every Emergency Department by summer 2025 and expand Hospital at Home to at least 2,000 beds by the end of 2026.'
STV News
5 days ago
- Health
- STV News
'Extreme' waits at A&E 'unacceptable and dangerous', say emergency doctors
The number of people facing 'extreme long waits' at Scottish A&E departments is 'unacceptable and dangerous', emergency doctors have said. Despite the number of people attending accident and emergency going down, the number of patients waiting 12 hours or more increased in June. According to Public Health Scotland (PHS), more than 13,300 (9.7%) patients in Scotland waited more than eight hours, and 5,354 people waited more than 12 hours (3.9%). Overall, 70.8% of Scots were seen within the four-hour target, compared to 71.8% the month before. These figures are above the 68.4% average for last year. 'Yes, we have been able to move some patients through our departments efficiently, but thousands of others – who are most likely to be the most unwell and with multiple and more complex needs – have been forced to endure longer stays,' said Dr Fiona Hunter, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine's vice president for Scotland. 'A fact that is unacceptable, and dangerous. 'We know that the crisis in A&E is something our communities are deeply worried about. Politicians should respond to those concerns now and address these issues. 'Otherwise, in a few short months, we will be staring down the barrel of another awful winter where patient safety will again be put at risk.' According to PHS, the proportion of people waiting at A&E for more than eight hours or more than 12 hours has increased since May. Scottish Labour health spokesperson Jackie Baillie agreed that 'lives are being put at risk by the constant crisis in A&E'. 'Patients are suffering dangerously long waits for urgent care and staff are exhausted from trying to paper over the cracks of SNP failure,' she said. Health secretary Neil Gray said Scotland's core A&E departments have consistently been the best-performing in the UK over the past decade. 'We are determined to drive improvements and remain in close contact with health boards to ensure they have the support they need to deal with the sustained pressure we are seeing,' he said. 'We are investing £200m to reduce waiting times, improve hospital flow, and minimise delayed discharges. Building on success already seen last year, we expect the additional funding committed to result in more than 300,000 appointments and procedures this year. 'To help relieve pressure on teams we will deliver direct access to specialist Frailty teams in every Emergency Department by summer 2025 and expand Hospital at Home to at least 2,000 beds by the end of 2026. These are just some of the measures we are undertaking to shift the balance of care from acute to community.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
