NHS Scotland has recorded its worst-ever emergency department waiting times with just over half of patients seen within the four-hour target set by the Scottish Government.

The latest figures show performance in Scotland’s emergency departments hit another new low after a sharp spike in the number of people waiting more than 12 hours.

On Wednesday, Public Health Scotland (PHS) reported just 55% of people were seen and subsequently admitted, discharged or transferred within four hours in the week up to December 18.

The Scottish Government’s target is for 95% of those attending in A&E to be dealt with within four hours.

The statistics continues the trend that has seen the proportion of emergency department attendances being seen within the target time dropping since the summer of 2021.

The previous low, recorded in the week up to November 27, was recorded as 61.8%.

Scotland’s health secretary Humza Yousaf said the numbers were recorded during a cold snap, while flu and Strep A cases were on the rise.

Yousaf has faced calls to resign with the figures during his time in the role branded “catastrophic”.

The statistics showed an increase of almost 700 in the number of people waiting more than 12 hours in emergency departments, rising to 1,821 during that time period compared to 1,150 the week before.

More than 56,000 people have spent more than 12 hours waiting for treatment at Scottish accident and emergency departments since Yousaf was appointed health secretary.

The number of people waiting more than eight hours, in the week up to December 18, also increased by almost 1,500 – from 3,045 to 4,536 – while those waiting more than four

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