A&E doctors ‘facing violence and aggression’ from patients as waits worsen

Doctors have said the “crisis” in Scotland’s accident and emergency departments leaves staff “facing violence and aggression” from patients.

Dr Fiona Hunter, vice president for Scotland of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, also said NHS staff were “yet to see any tangible plan” from Holyrood ministers about how the NHS would cope over a “challenging” winter.

She spoke out about the “relentless pressure” hospitals are under as new figures showed accident and emergency waiting times had again worsened.

In the week ending October 26, a total of 2,007 people – 7.5% of patients – spent 12 hours or more in an A&E department – which is the highest seven-day total since the week to February 2.

Meanwhile 4,273 patients – 15.9% of cases – were in A&E for eight hours or more – which is the highest number since the week ending January 5.

The latest figures from Public Health Scotland show that overall, 10,360 patients spent longer than the four-hour target time in accident and emergency before being either admitted, transferred or discharged.

Separate figures for the month of September show 67.8% of patients in A&E were seen and either admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours, down from 68.9% in August.

Over the course of September, 15,821 patients – 11.4% of those in A&E – were there for at least eight hours, with this up from 10.4% of cases the previous month.

A total of 6,609 patients (4.8%) had to spend a minimum of 12 hours in the emergency department – up from 4.2% in August.

Tory health spokesperson Dr Sandesh Gulhane said A&E departments were ‘teetering on the brink of collapsing’. PA Media

As the figures were published Health Secretary Neil Gray acknowledged that performance in accident and emergency is “below the levels we all wish to see”.

But Dr Hunter said: “These figures prove what I and many other emergency medicine clinicians already know – that we are in crisis.”

She added: “Our members and their emergency medicine colleagues tell me about the relentless pressure their hospitals are under and the impact this has on patient care – people are being treated in ambulances, in corridors, and other inappropriate spaces.

“Our EDs don’t have elastic walls. These are visual signs our hospitals are full to bursting – we can’t move patients from our departments into wards because of a lack of available inpatient beds.

“On top of dealing with system pressures, our clinicians are facing violence and aggression from those we are trying our best to care for – that can be caused by frustration over long waits. It’s beyond unacceptable.”

Dr Hunter continued: “We know the Scottish Health Secretary understands the scale of the issue, and just today acknowledged that ‘ED performance is below where it should be’.

“But we are yet to see any tangible plan from the government about how it intends to tackle the season ahead – which will be nothing short of challenging.”

Her comments came after Mr Gray accepted: “Current A&E performance is below the levels we all wish to see – we want to drive improvements and are working closely with health boards to ensure they have the support in place to cope with peaks in demand.”

The Health Secretary added that A&E departments are “facing sustained pressure”, with health boards reporting that “higher levels of hospital occupancy” are contributing to delays.

Mr Gray said: “This situation is not unique to Scotland, with all other UK nations experiencing similar pressures.

“Despite this, Scotland’s core A&E departments have consistently outperformed those in England and Wales over the past decade.”

But Scottish Conservatives health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said: “These scandalous figures confirm Scotland’s A&E departments are teetering on the brink of collapsing even before winter truly begins to bite.”

The Tory added: “The harsh reality is that over 2,000 patients were forced to wait more than half a day this week for treatment.

Health Secretary Neil Gray, left, and First Minister John Swinney have been seeking to tackle NHS waiting times. PA Media

“These staggering delays cost over 800 lives last year in our A&E departments.”

Labour health spokeswoman Dame Jackie Baillie was also critical of the Scottish Government, saying: “Every week thousands of patients are languishing in A&E departments for hours on end waiting for help they desperately need, despite the tireless efforts of hardworking NHS staff.

“The Royal College of Emergency Medicine has warned that hundreds of lives have already been lost as a result of long waits, and the SNP’s ongoing A&E crisis is endangering more lives.

“We have had years of empty promises from a string of different SNP health ministers, but things are getting worse once again.”

She added that with A&E departments “already at crisis point”, hospitals “could be in for a catastrophic winter if the SNP doesn’t act”.

The Liberal Democrats said the figures show September 2025 was the worst September on record for A&E waits.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “After a record-breaking August for long waits at A&E, this SNP Government have broken another record in September as well.

“What’s worse is that the very longest waits are ballooning too, with thousands waiting over half a day at A&E.

“Winter typically brings the worst pressures at A&E, yet we are already seeing records broken for long waits.

“The warning signs could not be clearer.”

Mr Gray however said the Government is investing £200m “to reduce waiting times, improve hospital flow, and minimise delayed discharges”.

He added: “We will provide direct access to specialist frailty teams in every A&E and expand Hospital at Home capacity to at least 2,000 beds by the end of 2026.

“These measures will help us shift the focus of care from acute to community.”