Scotland’s accident-and-emergency (A&E) departments have had the worst April on record for waiting times – with the Tories claiming patients are having to “suffer shocking delays” as a result.
Official figures from Public Health Scotland showed that 44,797 patients spent more than four hours in A&E in April 2026 – the highest total ever recorded for this month.
Just in excess of two-thirds (68%) of those who went to A&E for help were seen and either admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours, monthly statistics revealed.
While this was an improvement from 67.5% in March, it is a long way off the Scottish Government’s target of having 95% of patients admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours.
Compliance with this target has been “below 80% since summer 2021″, Public Health Scotland noted.
April’s figures also showed that 15,389 patients – 11.3% of cases in A&E – were there for eight hours or more.
This includes the 6,394 patients – 4.7% of cases – who spent at least half a day in the emergency department.
Scottish Conservative health spokesman Miles Briggs MSP said: “These horrific figures should shame John Swinney.
“On his watch tens of thousands of patients are having to suffer shocking delays at A&E departments and the situation is only getting worse.
“Two decades of SNP incompetence has meant they have now overseen the worst A&E waiting times in April on record.”
He added: “John Swinney and his new Health Secretary Angela Constance should be laser focused on tackling this crisis, but they’re still obsessing over another divisive independence referendum instead.”
He hit out as the latest weekly statistics showed another fall in waiting-times performance in Scotland’s A&E departments.
In the week ending May 24, some 62.9% of patients were admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours – down from 64.4% the previous week and lower than the weekly average of 64.9% achieved in 2025.
As well as the 10,175 patients who were in A&E for over four hours, there were 3,574 who were there for at least eight hours and 1,445 who spent a minimum of 12 hours in A&E.
Scottish Labour health spokeswoman Dame Jackie Baillie said “Every day Scots are facing dangerously long waits in A&E because of the SNP’s failure to get to grips with this crisis.
“Staff are exhausted from being asked to do the impossible and patients are sick of being asked to accept the unacceptable.
“We’ve had enough empty promises – we need real action from John Swinney and the SNP to give Scotland an NHS it can rely on.”
We will be publishing a new national plan for improving the flow of patients through our hospitals, from the front door to discharge, within our first 100 days
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “The fact that there were virtually no 12-hour waits when the SNP first took power shows just how much they have failed.
“To cut these horrific waits, we need to fix the broken care system. The gaps in community care are a bottleneck that’s causing 2,000 people a night to be marooned in hospital when they don’t need or want to be there.
“You simply cannot fix the NHS without fixing social care.”
Health Secretary Angela Constance stated that while A&E departments “continue to experience significant pressure”, she said “this is not unique to Scotland with other UK nations facing similar demands”.
Ms Constance said: “I am committed to improving A&E performance and tackling delays for patients.
“That’s why we will be publishing a new national plan for improving the flow of patients through our hospitals, from the front door to discharge, within our first 100 days.”