SCOTTISH Labour warned of an ongoing crisis in NHS emergency departments today as A&E waiting time performances crashed to a record low.

Scotland recorded its worst-ever figures since records began, with almost a quarter of patients waiting more than four hours to be seen.

Only 76 per cent of the 25,461 patients attending accident and emergency departments across Scotland during the second week of August were admitted, transferred or discharged within the target time.

A total of 6,113 A&E patients were left waiting for more than four hours, according to the latest NHS Scotland statistics.

Of those, 1,050 waited longer than eight hours and 239 patients were left for more than 12 hours.

It is the second week in a row that compliance with the four-hour target has dropped to record low levels.

The Scottish government’s target is for 95 per cent of patients to wait no longer than four hours, but this has not been met since July 2020.

Scottish Labour deputy leader and health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said the situation must not continue. 

“This A&E crisis is leading to thousands of Scots being denied the speedy and vital healthcare that they need,” she said.

“If the Health Secretary continues to turn a blind eye to this crisis then we face the possibility that lives will be lost.

“Humza Yousaf risks losing control of our NHS with potentially disastrous results. He must act, and act now.”

Last week Mr Yousaf said that staff have faced unprecedented pressure in recent weeks and that the situation is being monitored closely, pointing to commitments for multimillion-pound funding to support non-Covid emergency care. 

He said reports from hospitals suggested an increase in people reporting to A&E who were “much sicker and require higher levels of care.”