Scottish Ambulance Service declares highest level of emergency

The news comes as both the Tories and Labour say more than 2,000 people are estimated to have died this year because they waited too long in Scotland’s A&E departments.

Both parties cited research from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, external, which says there will be one additional death for every 72 patients who wait between eight and 12 hours in A&E.

The Tories claimed there could have been a “shocking” 2,181 excess deaths this year, basing calculations on the 226,328 patients who waited more than eight hours in the emergency room for treatment throughout 2024.

Labour claimed 147,223 Scots had waited more than eight hours to be seen in A&E and then be admitted, transferred or discharged over the period from January to October this year.

They estimated this would equate to as many as 2,045 excess deaths.

Official statistics from Public Health Scotland showed just under three out of five patients (59.7%) in A&E were seen and subsequently admitted, transferred or discharged within the target time of four hours in the week ending 8 December.

The Scottish government’s health secretary Neil Gray said the SNP “remain committed to delivering improved performance across A&E services”.

He added that the country’s core A&E departments have been the best performing in the UK for the last eight years but that health services remain under pressure following the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.