The latest A&E waiting time performance figures show a slight fall from the previous week, with 75.6% of patients seen within four hours.
A total of 5,647 patients waited four hours before being admitted to hospital, transferred or discharged during the week ending January 30.
This compares to 77.7% of patients for the week ending January 27, a total of 4,773.
Public Health Scotland’s most recent data also showed 1,269 patients spent more than eight hours in an A&E department, while 471 spent longer than 12 hours. Both of these figures were increases from the previous week’s data.
The Scottish Government’s target is for 95% of patients to be seen within four hours, although this has not been met since July 2020.
Responding to the figures, Scottish Conservative health spokesman, Dr Sandesh Gulhane, said: “The number of patients having to wait more than four hours to be seen is bad enough, but there is also a shocking and unacceptable jump in the number having to wait eight and even 12 hours.
“Tragically this will result in needless loss of lives.
“It’s clear the Health Secretary has no control over the crisis in Scotland’s emergency wards – despite the SNP having the audacity to actually boast about their A&E performance on their website.
“That record should be a source of shame, not celebration.
“Hard-working and under-resourced staff on Scotland’s emergency wards urgently need Humza Yousaf to get his act together and devise a coherent plan to ease the intolerable strain.”
