More than 12,000 wait over 24 hours at A&E last year

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today said that under the SNP people are facing “abominably long” waits for urgent care, as he revealed that more than 12,000 people waited over 24 hours at A&Es in 2025.

A Scottish Liberal Democrat freedom of information request found that:

• 12,571 people waited over 24 hours at A&Es in 2025.
• Between 2015 and 2025, waits increased by 179,485%.
• Over the last decade, 41,828 people have waited longer than 24 hours at A&Es.

It follows previous research by the party which found some patients are even facing waits of up to six days at A&Es in 2025.

Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

“Under the SNP, people are facing abominably long waits at A&E.

“It never used to be like this, but thanks to two decades of SNP mismanagement, people are waiting ages in agony for what should be urgent help.

“Nurses and doctors are at their wits' end. There are simply not enough beds in longer-term wards to move A&E patients into. Those wards are full of people who can’t go home, despite being medically ready, because of care worker and care package shortages in the community.

“A&E waits will continue to soar if we don’t fix the underlying crisis in care; Scottish Liberal Democrats are the only party banging our drum about this.

“We’ve got a realistic plan to raise the wages of care workers and attract more people into the profession, helping free up space in A&Es. You can vote for that plan in May by backing us on your second, peach-coloured, regional ballot paper.”