The Royal College of Emergency Medicine is urging whoever forms the next Westminster Government to ensure the Scottish executive has sufficient funding for Emergency Medicine as the country’s A&E crisis continues.
The call comes after the latest Emergency Department (ED) performance data for Scotland was released today (4 June 2024).
Published by Public Health Scotland, the data shows that in April:
- 112,005 people visited a major Scottish ED (down 4.6% on March 2024)
- 64% of those people were treated, discharged or admitted within the target time of four hours
- 14,237 people waited more than eight hours (12.7%) and 6,412 (5.7%) patients had to endure waits of more than 12 hours
This represents the worst four-hour, eight-hour and 12-hour performance for any April since records began in 2011.
The number of patients who were unable to leave hospital despite being well enough to do so – which is a key contributor to overcrowding in Emergency Departments – was up 12% on the same month the previous year.
Dr John-Paul Loughrey, Royal College of Emergency Medicine Vice President for Scotland, said: “Extreme waits in A&Es are degrading and dehumanising and critically they are dangerous.
“We must not allow this vitally important message to be drowned out by the posturing and political coverage which naturally comes ahead of an election.
“The crisis in our departments continues and whoever forms the next Westminster Government must be pragmatic, proactive and provide adequate resources so the devolved governments including here in Scotland can really address this issue.
“It is nothing less than our members and their patients deserve.”
A graphic illustration of the data can be found here. The full data can be found here.
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