A and E waiting times branded "unacceptable"

Scotland has recorded its worst monthly figure on record for patients seen within four hours at A&E departments, according to the latest figures. 71.6% of attendances at A&E services were seen within four hours - the lowest monthly figure for that measurement so far.

Statistics from Public Health Scotland showed performances were down for the month of March, with an increase in patients waiting to be seen within the eight and 12-hour measurements.

There was a rise of nearly 20,000 people attending emergency departments in Scotland, with 130,188 attendances compared to a figure of 110,196 for February.

4,128 (3.3%) saw a waiting time of more than 12 hours - an increase of 1,724 compared to February.

The Scottish Government aims to ensure 95% of people who attend A&E are seen and subsequently discharged or admitted to hospital within the four-hour period.

A further 11,017 attendees (8.7%) spent more than eight hours in an emergency department, compared to 6,602 (6.2%) facing that length of time in February.

Weekly figures for A&E waiting times saw a slight improvement on the previous week, however, with 70.2% of patients being seen within four hours.

Statistics covering the week up to April 24 showed an increase in this measurement from 68.1% the week before.

There were a total of 26,235 attendances at A&E services across the country during the seven-day period.

Of these, 653 patients spent more than 12 hours in an A&E department, 1,974 patients waited more than eight hours and 7,828 waited more than four hours.

Scottish Conservative health spokesman, Dr Sandesh Gulhane, said: "There is still no end in sight to the horrendous A&E waiting times in Scotland - in fact, things are getting even worse.

"All the Covid restrictions have been lifted and the NHS is apparently no longer on an emergency footing, and yet we have a new monthly record for the proportion of patients waiting four hours to be seen.

"The explanation for this, and the tragic, avoidable deaths it's causing, is simple: dreadful workforce planning by the SNP Government.

"This is completely unacceptable for patients, but it's also really unfair on frontline staff who have been stretched beyond breaking point for months and feel responsible for a crisis that's not of their making."

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "These latest weekly figures show a further improvement in A&E performance, and follow recent changes allowing boards to safely de-escalate Covid-related infection and prevention control measures with the aim of easing patient flows.

"We are also continuing to enhance capacity for Hospital at Home, and a range of other services which allow people to be treated at home rather than in hospital.

"The latest monthly figures published show Scotland continues to have the best performing A&Es in the UK, outperforming those in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for over six years."

Public Health Scotland figures also showed that 2,109 (9.6%) of all planned operations in the month of March were cancelled the day before or on the day the patient was due to be treated.

Delayed discharges saw an increase in March, with 1,836 - a rise of 8% compared to February's figure of 1,704.

Public Health Scotland said this was largely due to an increase in delays as a result of the infection control measures in place at hospital or in care homes.