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<\/a><\/p>\nExtreme long waits in Emergency Departments across Scotland are a political responsibility that can no longer be ignored as more than 51,400 older patients endured stays of 12 hours or more last year \u2013 the worst on record.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n New analysis<\/a>\u00a0from the Royal College of Emergency (RCEM) reveals in major EDs, one in every eight patients (51,423) aged 60 or over waited more than 12 hours to be transferred, admitted or discharged in 2024.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n That\u2019s 14,407 more patients\u00a0than the year before (2023).\u00a0<\/p>\n And is over 16 times more people than in 2019 when just 3,135 older people endured waits of this length.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The figures, obtained by RCEM via Freedom of Information requests to Public Health Scotland,\u00a0also reveal that, concerningly, the older a patient is the longer they are likely to wait in A&E.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n People aged 70-79 have a 12% chance of waiting 12 hours or more \u2013 almost 16 times higher than it was in 2019.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Meanwhile, people aged 80-89 have a 16% chance of enduring extreme waits, and the likelihood rises to 19% for those aged 90 and above.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Compare that to patients aged 18-29, whose average likelihood of experiencing a 12-hour wait last year was just 2.2%.\u00a0<\/p>\n Older patients often arrive to the Emergency Department with more complicated or multiple health issues.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n This, when combined with the inability to admit them onto a ward due to the lack of available in-patient beds, means older people can become stuck in Emergency Departments \u2013 enduring extreme long waits, often on trolleys in corridors.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n And when patients do finally get admitted, they often find themselves stranded in hospital, unable to go home when they are well enough to leave, frequently due to a lack of available social care support.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Public Health Scotland<\/a>\u00a0recently revealed that in 2024\/25, there was a record 720,119 days spent in hospital by patients whose discharge was delayed \u2013 474,153 of which were experienced by people aged 75 or over. This accounted for two out of every three (66%) delayed discharge bed days.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Dr Fiona Hunter, Vice President of RCEM Scotland, said, \u201cThis data is both shocking and shameful, and it is abundantly clear that older people are bearing the brunt of a system in crisis.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cHundreds of thousands of dearly loved people \u2013 great-grandparents, grandmas, grandads, parents \u2013 forced to experience extreme long stays in our Emergency Departments every year mainly because we don\u2019t have enough in-patient beds to admit them to when they need one.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOften enduring these waits on trolleys in areas that aren\u2019t designed to deliver care in \u2013 corridors or even cupboards.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a failure of the system. It\u2019s unacceptable, it\u2019s\u00a0dangerous<\/a>\u00a0and it\u2019s putting lives at risk.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEnough is enough. The government can\u2019t ignore the ongoing crisis our Emergency Departments \u2013 the workforce and patients \u2013 continue to face day in, day out.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe all deserve an Urgent and Emergency Care system that works as it should and not letting people, our most vulnerable, down when they need it most.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Dr Bob Caslake, Chair of the BGS Scotland Council, said, \u201cThis report highlights the urgent attention that is needed across the health and social care system to allow older people to access the care they need at the time they need it.<\/strong> <\/p>\n \u201cThe current waiting times faced by older people in Emergency Departments are unacceptable, and reducing these delays is a matter of equity, dignity, and patient safety.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Professor Andrew Elder, President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh said, \u201cIt is disappointing that this information is not routinely collected, analysed and published and it is unacceptable to see so many older people waiting hours \u2014 sometimes days \u2014 in A&E wards for the care they need.<\/strong> <\/p>\n \u201cThese older people are often living with frailty, dementia, and multiple other health conditions. They deserve to be treated with dignity and compassion. <\/p>\n \u201cLong waits for care are neither dignified nor compassionate and can also lead to serious harm. This is not the standard of care we should accept for our parents, grandparents, or neighbours. <\/p>\n \u201cWith the numbers of older people in Scotland in need of care expected to increase dramatically, we urgently need a system that prioritises timely treatment and supports frontline staff in delivering the respect and care our older population deserves.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The figures come after the Royal College of Emergency Medicine published a report earlier this year looking at the care older people, aged 75 and over, receive in Emergency Departments across the UK.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Titled\u00a0\u2018Care of Older People 2023-24\u2019<\/a>, the research found there was insufficient screening for three common conditions which primarily affect this age group, including delirium and for general frailty.\u00a0<\/p>\n RCEM also released analysis in February which found\u00a0the number of people experiencing stays of longer than 12hrs in Scotland\u2019s ED last year was a staggering 99 times higher than 2011 when records began.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n Like this:<\/p>\n Like Loading…<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n