Ambulance Delays Equivalent to 157 Years Outside Scottish Hospitals Since Pandemic
Ambulances have waited the equivalent of more than 157 years to drop off patients at Scotland's overcrowded hospitals since the pandemic began, according to newly released figures. The Scottish Liberal Democrats have attributed these staggering delays to a critical lack of available beds, arguing that the data demonstrates the Scottish National Party cannot be trusted with the National Health Service.
Mounting Hours of Delays Across Health Boards
Between 2022 and 2025 inclusive, ambulances across Scotland accumulated 1.38 million hours of waiting time outside hospitals. These delays were caused by clinical handover processes, equipment returns, and necessary vehicle cleaning procedures. Data from the Scottish Ambulance Service indicates that median turnaround times improved in only two of the nation's fourteen regional health boards over this four-year period.
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton emphasized that these hospital hold-ups leave fewer ambulances available to respond to urgent 999 calls. Last month, median response times for the most critically ill patients, including suspected heart attack cases, stood at approximately seven minutes.
Cole-Hamilton stated: 'These figures reflect the staggering delays you could face if you ring for an ambulance at a time of crisis. Despite the best efforts of staff, ambulances are waiting longer and longer outside hospitals because there's barely any space to receive new patients inside.'
Bed Shortages and Social Care Crisis
The political leader further explained: 'There are not enough beds in Accident and Emergency departments because there are no longer sufficient beds in longer-term wards to move patients to. Too many beds in longer-term wards are occupied by people who are medically ready to leave but cannot because shortages of care workers and care packages prevent their discharge.'
Cole-Hamilton concluded: 'After nineteen years, the SNP cannot be trusted with our health service.' His party has proposed investing £400 million into social care over the next three years to enhance community care provision, thereby freeing up hospital beds and reducing ambulance waiting times.
Regional Variations and Worst Performers
NHS Ayrshire & Arran demonstrated improvement, with average turnaround times decreasing from 53 minutes 35 seconds to 49 minutes 28 seconds between 2022 and 2025. Similarly, NHS Shetland saw a reduction from 24 minutes 10 seconds to 22 minutes.
However, the other twelve health boards all experienced increases in waiting times. Two boards recorded median turnaround times exceeding one hour, with the worst delays occurring in the local health board of SNP Health Secretary Neil Gray.
NHS Lanarkshire's median turnaround time rose from 52 minutes 38 seconds to 63 minutes 28 seconds, while NHS Grampian experienced a surge from 48 minutes 03 seconds to 62 minutes 43 seconds. The longest single turnaround time in Scotland during this period was also recorded in NHS Lanarkshire, where one ambulance took 1,070 minutes (17 hours 50 minutes) to complete a patient drop-off.
Political Responses and Defences
SNP candidate Maree Todd responded: 'Of course there is still much work to be done, but under the SNP, we have seen a 62 percent increase in the number of paramedics working in the Scottish Ambulance Service over the past decade.'
Additional data from Public Health Scotland revealed that nearly four in ten A&E patients waited longer than the four-hour target last week. In the seven days leading to April 12, only 62.7 percent of patients were admitted, discharged, or transferred on time, representing a slight improvement from 59.9 percent the previous week.
The proportion waiting more than eight hours was 14.1 percent (down from 14.7 percent), while 6.1 percent waited more than twelve hours (down from 6.2 percent).
Scottish Tory health spokesman Dr. Sandesh Gulhane commented: 'These dire statistics are further proof that the SNP have run our health service into the ground. If the SNP get another five years in power, they will obsess over independence at the expense of everything else. Frontline staff and patients deserve better than a government that only cares about constitutional grievances.'
Scottish Labour deputy Jackie Baillie added: 'Thousands of Scots are facing dangerously long waits for urgent care as a result of the SNP's failure to fix the mess in A&E. John Swinney and the SNP have given up on dealing with the problem – telling patients and staff alike to accept chaos as the norm.'
SNP candidate Clare Haughey defended her party's record: 'Our A&Es are outperforming the rest of the UK. There is still much work to be done but the SNP is the only party with a plan for our NHS.'
