Almost 600 patients waited more than two days to be seen at A&E in the last two years, with the figures labelled “intolerable” by the Scottish Conservatives.

Since 2019, a total of 636 people waited more than 48 hours in a Scottish emergency department before they were seen and subsequently admitted, transferred or discharged by medics.

However, 584 of these lengthy waits – 91.8% – took place in the last two years, with 390 in 2022 and a further 194 in 2023.

Scottish Tory health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane described the surge in the last two years as “terrifying” for patients.

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The party’s analysis of the Public Health Scotland data also showed the number of people waiting more than 24 hours at A&E went from 48 in 2019 to 7,783 in 2023.

Meanwhile, those waiting more than 36 hours increased from 10 in 2019 to 1,018 last year.

Dr Gulhane said: “The thought of anyone having to wait two days to be seen in an A&E ward is terrifying – and completely unacceptable.

“The clue is in the name: accident and emergency. Time is of the essence. We know that excess delays lead to tragic and avoidable deaths.

“These appalling figures are the product of the SNP’s mismanagement of our NHS.

“Years of dire workforce planning by a succession of SNP health secretaries has left dedicated staff unable to cope with the demands placed upon them – and the intolerable surge in two-day A&E waits proves the crisis is escalating.

“The current Health Secretary, Neil Gray, must take action now to cut waiting times. He should start by adopting the Scottish Conservatives’ bold plans to deliver a modern, efficient and local NHS.”

Health Secretary Neil Gray said: “Our services are facing sustained pressure and this is not unique to Scotland – with similar challenges being felt right across the UK.

“Although we have the best-performing core A&E departments in the UK, performance remains below the level we all wish to see.

“A&E performance is impacted by pressures from across the wider health and social care system and we are continuing to work with boards to reduce long waits and support delivery of sustained improvements.

“This year’s Scottish Budget provides more than £19.5 billion for health and social care and an extra £500 million for frontline boards.”