'Dangerous incompetence': One in three ambulances stuck outside hospitals for more than an hour
The number of ambulances hitting these high turnaround times has increased year-on-year since the coronavirus pandemic.
Scottish Government ministers are being accused of “dangerous incompetence” after new figures revealed over a third of ambulances are left waiting outside hospitals for over an hour.
So far this year, 33.6 per cent of ambulances had hospital turnaround times in excess of 60 minutes. This has increased year-on-year since 2020 when only 6.4 per cent were left to wait for over an hour.
During the coronavirus pandemic this increased to 13.9 per cent in 2021 and 26.6 per cent in 2022. It then hit 27.9 per cent in 2023 and 31.9 per cent last year.
By comparison, only 1.4 per cent of ambulances were facing waits of over an hour outside hospitals 10 years ago.
The figures were obtained through a Freedom of Information request by Scottish Labour, who say the turnaround times can show where patients are having to wait in ambulances because there are no hospital beds available.
Dame Jackie Baillie MSP, the party’s health spokeswoman, said: “The SNP’s dangerous incompetence has left ambulances queuing outside hospitals while Scots wait for emergency care.
“Hospitals are at breaking point and it is piling pressure on our ambulance service.
“This crisis has been years in the making, but the SNP has stood idly by while things deteriorated year after year.
“Patients and NHS staff alike are being let down by an SNP government that has no idea how to fix our NHS.”
She said Scottish Labour will “step up where the SNP has failed” and tackle bed-blocking if it wins the 2026 Holyrood election.
Dr Fiona Hunter, vice-president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine Scotland, said the challenges faced by the ambulance service reflect the lack of capacity in hospitals.
“People are waiting for ambulances, waiting in ambulances, and waiting on trolleys in our corridors because emergency departments are too full - causing potential harm.
“There needs to be an urgent focus on the ‘back door’ of our hospitals, especially with winter fast approaching, ensuring patients on wards who are deemed medically well enough to go home can, with appropriate social care options in place.
“Only then will we see improvements at the front door of our hospitals, and patients moving through the system without facing delays at every stage.”
The criticism comes only days after the Scottish Government came under fire after new figures showed the number of patients enduring “dangerous” waits of over 12 hours in A&E had reached its highest level for eight months.
For the week ending October 5, a total of 1,604 patients spent more than half a day in A&E - this is around 5.9 per cent of all emergency department patients.
This is up from 1,431 (5.2 per cent) the previous week and is the highest total since February.
The number of patients spending eight hours or more in A&E also increased to 3,667 (13.6 per cent of all patients) according to the latest weekly NHS statistics. This is up from 3,552 (12 per cent) the previous week.
The Scottish Government’s target is to have 95 per cent of patients seen and either admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours. The most recent data shows only 63.9 per cent of patients were seen within the four hour target.
Dr Sandesh Gulhane MSP, the Scottish Conservatives’ health spokesman, said: “The repeated issue of ambulance stacking is hugely concerning and highlights the deepening crisis facing medical staff and health boards across Scotland.
“This SNP government should be ashamed that a third of all ambulances are spending more than an hour stuck outside hospitals.
“Dedicated frontline staff in our NHS are working tirelessly to keep patients safe, but they are being failed by this SNP government.”
Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton added: “Under the SNP, despite the best efforts of staff, ambulances are waiting longer and longer outside of hospitals because staff are struggling to find the space to receive new patients.”
A spokesman for the Scottish Ambulance Service said: “We continue to experience pressure on our services due to lengthy hospital turnaround times at a number of hospital sites across Scotland.
“These waits prevent our crews from getting back out on the road to treat other patients, and we are working closely with health boards to support their efforts to improve the situation.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Ambulance crews responded to 470 life-threatening incidents last week, achieving a median response time of 7 minutes and 56 seconds. This is a testament to their dedication and efficiency.
“But we are determined to do more to support frontline services and reduce any delays for patients – we have seen a record increase in the number of newly qualified paramedics and we have supported the SAS with the recruitment of 241 frontline staff last year, with SAS planning to recruit a further 456 this year.
“This includes frontline A&E staff and patient transport service staff.
“We know there are specific challenges, not unique to Scotland, but we are seeing progress. Waiting lists are coming down, NHS staff numbers are going up and Scotland’s core A&E sites are consistently outperforming those in England and Wales.”
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