Almost 9,000 Scots spent more than a day waiting in A&E departments during the first nine months of this year, according to new statistics uncovered by Scottish Labour.

Anas Sarwar shared the figures with MSPs during Thursday’s First Minister’s Questions.

He urged John Swinney to use billions of pounds coming to Scotland after last week’s Budget boost NHS Scotland’s coffers.

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Mr Sarwar said: “Statistics obtained by Scottish Labour show that almost 9,000 Scots waited over 24 hours in A&E up to the end of September this year.

“That’s a full day waiting for treatment. That is more than the entire number waiting longer than 24 hours in 2023.

“Unbelievably, over 200 Scots waited more than two days in A&E.”

Mr Swinney said his administration had taken “tough decisions” on tax so they could invest in the NHS “in excess of Barnett consequentials because we have taken tough decisions.”

He acknowledged the NHS faces “challenges” and apologised to anyone who has waited longer than necessary.

Mr Sarwar said the situation has “got worse” under Mr Swinney’s leadership.

The recent UK Budget will result in an additional £3.4 billion coming to Scotland next year, with £1.72bn as a result of increased spending on the NHS south of the border. 

Mr Sarwar called for the money to be spent on bringing down long waiting times.

Mr Swinney said further investment can only come if the minority Scottish Government is able to pass its own Budget.

The First Minister said the Scottish Labour leader is not an “innocent bystander” in the negotiations, adding: “He should take seriously the offer from the Government to engage around the Budget process.”

The £3.4bn in Barnett Consequentials resulting from Rachel Revees’s spending decisions dominated First Minister’s Questions, with Russell Findlay also quizzing the SNP leader on how he will spend the cash boost.

The Scottish Tory leader said it would allow the government to deliver a “game-changing” tax cut.

He told MSPs higher rates of income tax in Scotland were “stopping businesses from growing, preventing them from creating jobs”.

“Everyone is pleading for the SNP to change direction,” he said.

He pointed to comments from Glasgow University Professor David Heald, who told Holyrood’s Finance Committee that high marginal tax rates in Scotland were “ludicrous”.

Mr Findlay said: “John Swinney surely knows that high tax kills growth and costs jobs.

“But in his topsy turvy world, hitting hard-working Scots with high taxes will somehow boost our struggling economy. Even his own MSPs are worried.”

With the Scottish Budget due to be unveiled on December 4, Mr Findlay said the First Minister must “do the right thing” for businesses who “urgently need more help”.

The First Minister, however, told Mr Findlay that since the SNP had come to power Scotland had seen higher rates of GDP growth per person than the UK as a whole.

“Since 2007 GDP per person has grown by 10.5% in Scotland compared to 6.3% at a UK level,” Mr Swinney told MSPs.

“Just to remind Parliament, so Parliament has got complete information, 2007 was the moment that this government was elected.

“So in the lifespan of this government we have delivered more growth per head than the rest of the United Kingdom.”

He added: “Most of the taxation that is imposed upon business is not determined by this Parliament, most of it is determined by the United Kingdom Parliament.”

Mr Swinney made clear cuts in tax would have to lead to cuts in public spending.

He added: “The implications of Mr Findlay’s point to me is that if we are to cut taxes we will have to cut public expenditure as well.”