Second worst 12 hour waits on record at A&E

Responding to new figures showing only 59.2% of people attending A&E were seen within the 4 hour target in the week ending 7th December 2025, while 4,670 people waited over 8 hours and 2,344 waited over 12 hours (the second worst on record), Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

"When the SNP came to power only a handful of people ever had to wait over 12 hours, now we are seeing thousands every week and this week we've seen the second highest number ever. That is the impact of nearly two decades of SNP mismanagement in our NHS.

"The Scottish Government needs to start taking serious action to reduce pressures and that should start with addressing the crisis in social care.

"A&E departments are backed up, because hospitals are rammed, because there are so many people stuck there who should be in care homes or looked after at home. You cannot fix the NHS without fixing social care.

"Scotland's A&E patients deserve better - and with the Scottish Liberal Democrats, you can vote for change with fairness at its heart."