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From Public Health Scotland Accident and emergency Accredited official statistics for December 2025, published today, 63.5% were treated within 4 hours and 2.1% waited more than 12 hours in Type 1 full Emergency departments.
In NHS England, in the same month, 59.6% were treated within 4 hours.
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/
That 3.9% difference does not seem much at face value but remember we’re talking about around 30 000 people in Scotland and half a million people in England, so more than a thousand in Scotland were seen within 4 hours in Scotland who would not have been had they lived in England and 10 000 in England who were not seen within 4 hours in England would have been had they lived here.
Waiting more than 12 hours? Difficult. NHS England starts the clock again after people are admitted whereas NHS Scotland counts from when they come in the door so I can’t compare with these recent data but the Royal College of Emergency Medicine has previously exposed them to reveal twice as many in NHS England. See:
Talking-up Scotland 
“Waiting more than 12 hours? Difficult. NHS England starts the clock again after people are admitted whereas NHS Scotland counts from when they come in the door so I can’t compare with these recent data but the Royal College of Emergency Medicine has previously exposed them to reveal twice as many in NHS England.”
NHS England now publishes two different performance metrics monthly for over 12 hour waits in A&E: (i) time from decision to admit – aka ‘corridor waits’; and (ii) time from arrival. The latter was introduced as a regular performance report about 18 months ago following pressure from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM). The latter metric now permits more direct comparisons with long waits in NHS Scotland and NHS Wales.
The RCEM has just commented on Emergency Department (Type 1) waits in Scotland during December 2025: ‘RCEM welcomes slight improvement in Scottish Emergency Department performance figures, but warns against complacency’.
Leaving aside the absolute nonsense of implying that anyone associated with A&E performance in Scotland might be ‘complacent’, there are some noteworthy remarks in the press statement – perhaps not ‘newsworthy’ in Scotland though!
‘RCEM Vice President for Scotland Dr Fiona Hunter said: “We welcome this good news in the data for December 2025, and are pleased to see that in Scotland’s major (Type 1) EDs every single metric has seen an improvement on the previous month (November 2025) and in December 2024.‘ (my emphasis) – and bear this in mind as you read what the RCEM reports for Wales below!
And on 12 hour waits in Scotland during December 2025: ‘7,145 - one in 16 patients (over 6%) – waited twelve hours or more in EDs’.
And now for a direct comparison with NHS Wales that should be put to the British Labour Party leadership in Scotland. From 23 January: ‘RCEM urges action as new data from Welsh government shows pressures taking a toll on Emergency Departments’ waiting times’.
Beneath this relatively mild headline, the RCEM reports: ‘The new Welsh government statistics released on 22 January 2026 show that the winter of 2025 had the worst December on record. Just 52.7% of patients in major EDs were admitted, transferred, or discharged, within four hours of arrival.‘
‘The Welsh government quarterly data, covering 1 December to 31 December 2025, showed:
• Only 52.7% of patients in major EDs met the four-hour target (c. 63% in Scotland according to Public Health Scotland
• 26% of people in major EDs waited more than eight hours (17,030 patients)
• 15.5% of people in major EDs waited more than 12 hours (10,174 patients).’ – c. 6% for Scotland’s Type 1 departments.
For the avoidance of doubt, I take no pleasure in reporting negatives about NHS Wales. The sole purpose is to call out the hypocrisy of British Labour Party politicians seeking votes in Scotland on the issue of NHS Scotland’s performance and the SNP Scottish Government’s governance of the service.)
On NHS England, the RCEM (29 January 2026) commented: ‘Failure to prepare’ for winter has left A&E patients out at sea, says Royal College of Emergency Medicine as norovirus surge piles pressure on hospitals‘.
Oddly, the RCEM has been silent it seems on the December Emergency Department waits in England. The official NHS England source reports:
60.3% of patients treated at a type 1 or 2 A&E department were admitted, transferred or discharged within 4 hours.
Of the total attendances at Type 1 and Type 2 departments in December 2025, 151,724 spent over 12 hours from arrival at A&E (10.5%), an average of 4,894 per day. (c. 6% for Scotland’s Type 1 departments.)
Source: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/ECDS-Supplementary-Analysis-Statistical-Commentary-January-2026-W4UVCP.pdf
Terminology and performance measures: Type 1 = Major A&E Departments (also referred to as Emergency Departments (EDs)) and Type 2 = Single Specialty A&E services (e.g. ophthalmology, dental). Figures for Type 2 departments are not currently reported in NHS Scotland A&E statistics.)
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