Experts have warned Scotland’s accident and emergency delays are contributing to hundreds of avoidable deaths each year, with new figures showing the problem is worsening.
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) estimates that long waits in emergency departments were linked to more than 800 deaths in 2024 – a figure the college says is a third higher than the previous year and a “national tragedy”.
Data shows 76,510 people waited more than 12 hours in A&E last year, a jump of 26% on 2023. Of those, 58,906 patients faced long waits before being admitted to a hospital bed.
RCEM spokeswoman Dr Fiona Hunter said overcrowding was forcing patients to be treated in unsafe conditions. “Patients have been in the emergency department, on a trolley in a corridor, cupboard, or simply any available floor space,” she said.
“It doesn’t have to be this way – the crisis is fixable and it comes down to patient flow in hospitals – getting people out of ED and into a ward bed and getting them out of hospital when they are well enough to go home.”
Health Secretary Neil Gray said the government was “determined to improve A&E waiting times” and pointed to ongoing efforts to increase staffing, improve patient flow, and free up beds in social care. But he admitted “unacceptable delays” remain.
The Scottish Liberal Democrats described the figures as “shameful”, while the Conservatives accused the SNP government of failing to properly plan for the crisis.
Aberdeenshire West MSP Alexander Burnett said NHS Grampian was particularly under pressure. He highlighted that the region has the lowest number of hospital beds per 1,000 people in Scotland – 1.4 compared to 3.6 in Greater Glasgow & Clyde and 2.8 in neighbouring Tayside.
He said: “These deaths could have been prevented. Hospital staff are doing their best, but they’ve been let down by health leaders who haven’t made a proper plan to fix the crisis.”
RCEM said urgent reforms are needed to cut waits and prevent further fatalities, warning that without action, patients and staff face another difficult winter in Scotland’s hospitals.
