FIRST MINISTER Nicola Sturgeon must sack the “failing” Health Secretary Humza Yousaf, Scottish Labour urged today after hospitals recorded their worst ever A&E waiting times.

Public Health Scotland revealed that, in the week ending October 30, only 63.1 per cent of emergency departments were seen within the four-hour wait standard — the lowest proportion recorded.

The Scottish government’s target is for 95 per cent of those attending in A&E to be dealt with within four hours.

Nearly 3,400 patients waited eight hours or more while 1,400 patients waited a minimum of 12 hours before being admitted, transferred or discharged.

Mr Yousaf has issued a plea for people to only go to A&E “if their condition is an emergency.”

Scottish Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said: “The SNP’s race to the bottom must be stopped before things get any worse for our A&E departments.

“For months Scottish Labour has been calling on the Scottish government to get a handle on this crisis, and yet we are continually left with record-breaking failures and nothing but empty words and endless excuses from this hopeless Health Secretary.

“As the real winter crisis approaches, staff are on their knees with exhaustion and they cannot be left to face this crisis alone.”

Ms Baillie warned that patients are going to have worse health outcomes or even die because of not being seen quickly enough.

She said: “Scots will be wondering why, as the evidence builds, the First Minister seems to turn a blind eye to Humza Yousaf’s failures. 

“It is time for the First Minister to sack her failing Health Secretary and put patients’ needs first.”

The Health Secretary accepted that the performance of emergency departments was “not where I want it to be.”