Ministers have been accused of presiding over a “permanent crisis” in Scotland’s accident and emergency departments, as figures showed a rise in the number of patients suffering the longest waits.

The most recent figures showed across Scotland of the 26,867 people who went to A&E for help, 65.4 per cent were admitted, transferred or discharged within the four hour target time.

Two health boards met the target of dealing with 95 per cent of cases in A&E inside four hours, with NHS Western Isles achieving 95.8 per cent, while NHS Orkney dealt within 97.1 per cent of patients in A&E in the target time. But two hospitals dealt with less than half of patients in A&E inside four hours – with 47.3 per cent of patients at Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours, ahead of the 45.8 per cent achieved at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.