Waiting time performance across Scotland’s A&E units deteriorated again last week, with almost two in five patients waiting too long for treatment.

Glasgow’s flagship £850m Queen Elizabeth University Hospital had the worst performance on record, with barely a third of its A&E patients - 35.7% - seen on time.

The latest figures from Public Health Scotland showed 1,120 patients in that hospital alone spent more than four hours in A&E, with 535 waiting eight hours and 200 waiting 12.

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Across the country, Public Health Scotland reported only 62% of people attending A&E were seen within the official four-hour target, down from 64.1% the previous week.

The seven days to January 21 also saw more people endure long waits.

The number of patients waiting more than eight hours in A&E rose from 3,266 to 3,831 (14.2 to 16.2% of patients), with those waiting 12 hours up from 1,684 to 1,912 (7.3 to 8.1%).

The target is for 95% of patients to be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours.

It has not been met nationally since July 2020.

The worst performing health board last week was NHS Forth Valley, with 47.7% of patients seen on time, followed by NHS Lanarkshire (56%) and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (56.2%).

The decline in performance Scotland-wide coincided with an increase in attendances from 23,043 to 23,615, of whom 8,963 waited longer than the four-hour target time.

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Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said the figures showed long A&E were “the new normal” and “years of SNP ministerial disinterest are coming home to roost”.

He said SNP health Secretary Michael Matheson, who faces an MSP expenses probe, had been “too distracted by salvaging his career to focus on the needs of staff and patients”.

"Scotland needs a government laser focused on the day job,” Mr Cole-Hamilton said. 

“Scottish Liberal Democrats would overhaul the NHS Recovery Plan, bring forward an urgent inquiry into the hundreds of avoidable deaths linked to the emergency care crisis and implement measures which will meaningfully tackle burnout among staff.”

Tory MSP Dr Sandesh Gulhane added: “These shameful and worsening figures expose the true crisis that plagues our A&E departments after 16 years of the SNP’s dire workforce planning and mismanagement of our NHS.

“Successive health secretaries have failed to provide the resources my hardworking NHS colleagues need, leaving patients facing dangerous and unacceptable waits in our emergency wards. It’s simply not good enough.

“Excessive delays in A&E lead to unnecessary loss of life, yet Michael Matheson has failed to tackle this growing problem, instead continuing the legacy of NHS failure started by his predecessors.

“If he refuses to quit, the discredited and distracted health secretary must finally get a grip on this crisis.”

Health Secretary Michael Matheson said the service "remains under sustained pressure" and he conceded "waiting times are longer than we want them to be for some patients".

Mr Matheson said: "Emergency departments across Scotland are continuing to deal with heightened winter pressures, with similar demand being felt throughout the UK.

"Increased seasonal illness including Covid, flu and norovirus and high levels of occupancy and delayed discharge are all contributing to increased pressure on services.

"Hospital bed occupancy continues to be a major factor impacting on performance.

"To tackle this, our delayed discharge and hospital occupancy action plan is being implemented at pace, delivering actions we know work to reduce delays, including early planning, deployment of multi-agency teams and involvement of the patient, their family and carers."