The Scottish Government must take urgent action to prevent A&E waiting times spiraling out of control, Scottish Labour has warned.

Statistics published today have revealed in May this year only 87 per cent of A&E patients were seen within the four-hour target.

Some 1,782 people were made to wait more than eight hours and 407 people were not treated within 12 hours of arriving at A&E.

Despite a considerable drop (13.7 per cent) in the number of people attending A&E compared to May 2019, today’s statistics show that the proportion of people being admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours has fallen and more people are waiting longer for treatment.

Last week, the Royal College for Emergency Medicine reported serious shortages on the NHS frontline and warned that many medics are at risk of burnout.

With A&E attendance now at its highest since the beginning of the pandemic, Scottish Labour has called for action from Humza Yousaf to prevent an “A&E crisis.”

Commenting, Scottish Labour health spokesperson Jackie Baillie said:

“These statistics plainly show that our A&E services are under increasing strain and that the Scottish Government’s eye is simply not on the ball.

“We cannot have thousands of patients in pain for hours and hours in A&E clinics but unless other services are properly remobilised patients will feel they have nowhere else to turn.

“It’s high time that the SNP government takes action to support and properly resource frontline medics so that an A&E crisis can be averted.”