A&E activity data
- Hospital care
Overview
This section covers activity in Accident and Emergency (A&E) departments across Scotland.
This includes:
- 30 large consultant-led emergency departments (EDs) in Scotland – this is updated weekly
- 60 minor injuries units (MIUs) and community A&E or casualty units – this is updated monthly
You can view further information about the sites and the data we cover in the metadata section.
Redesign of urgent care
The redesign of urgent care, implemented in December 2020, changed the way people access A&E.
The advice now is that people with non-urgent conditions phone NHS 24 first – this introduces a new 'planned' type of A&E attendance.
The date released here will only cover 'unplanned' attendances, but we hope to be able to report 'planned' attendances when recording is improved.
Performance monitoring
Formal performance monitoring against the 4-hour A&E access standard is based on monthly data for all types of A&E departments.
This means the sum of EDs plus MIUs and smaller community units.
Find out more information about the standard performance against local delivery plan (LDP) standards.
How you can view our data
There are various ways that you can see and use our data:
- latest release main points
- interactive charts
- downloadable tables
- machine-readable open data tables
Latest release: main points
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New weekly data
New monthly data
Interactive data
We present a series of interactive charts.
Each chart indicates whether it is updated weekly or monthly.
We provide information at:
- national level
- NHS board level
- hospital or site level
- type of site:
- emergency department (ED) only
- minor injury unit (MIU) or smaller community departments
- all types of A&E site combined
You can select breakdowns by:
- NHS board area
- A&E site (hospital)
- patient demographics
- time periods of interest
Number of attendances
This section shows the number of A&E attendances over time.
Large decreases in A&E attendances were observed during the COVID-19 pandemic, but levels have now returned to similar to pre-pandemic levels.
Further information about attendances can be found in the metadata.
All A&E site attendances over time (monthly)
All emergency department attendances over time (weekly)
How long people wait
This section gives more detailed information about how long people wait at A&E departments.
Over the past two years the proportion of A&E attendances being seen within four hours has been decreasing and has remained below 70% since late summer 2021.
The length of wait at Emergency Departments is generally higher than for all types of A&E sites combined – this reflects that EDs see patients with more serious or complex conditions.
Since 2007 the standard is that 95% of patients are seen within four hours. Formal monitoring of this is based on monthly data for all A&E sites.
Further information can be found in the performance against local delivery plan (LDP) standards and in the metadata section.
Percentage seen in A&E within 4 hours (monthly)
Percentage seen in emergency departments within 4 hours (weekly)
Number of attendances to A&E over 4, 8 and 12 hours (monthly)
Number of attendances to emergency departments over 4, 8 and 12 hours (weekly)
Who attends
This section looks at the demographics of those attending A&E departments.
The information is presented as population rates to help compare between groups.
Individuals living in the most deprived areas account for more than twice as many attendances as those from the least deprived areas.
The elderly and very young (under 5 years old) have the highest attendance rates at A&E.
Attendances at A&E by sex and deprivation status (monthly)
Why people attend
Information on diagnosis or reason for attendance is collected as part of the A&E national dataset. However, there are a number of data quality issues, so we are not currently able to report nationally consistent data on this.
This section provides a breakdown of 'patient flow' – a category assigned to reflect the type of treatment patients need and provide an indication of the reason for the A&E attendance.
Find out further information on patient flow in the metadata section.
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When do people attend
This section gives more detailed information about the time of day and day of the week when people attend A&E departments.
Arrivals at A&E department tend to vary considerably throughout the day, with the busiest times throughout the day.
Attendance at A&E by day of week (monthly)
Mondays tend to be the busiest day in terms of average monthly attendances.
Attendance at A&E by time of day (monthly)
Patient pathways: source of referral and discharge destination
This section looks at how people are referred to A&E departments, for example, those who:
- self present
- refer through a GP
- attend A&E via a call to NHS 24 or Scottish Ambulance Service
The most common source of referral to A&E departments is currently those self presenting. This is around 55%.
The section also looks at where patients go after attending A&E departments.
Around 70% of patients attending A&E end up being discharged home.
Downloads and open data
NHSScotland A&E sites
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This is a list of all the A&E sites in Scotland. The sites are described as being one of two types - emergency departments or MIU/other.
Files are submitted as either episode or aggregate files. You can see the definitions for these in the glossary.
All sites have been open from before the A&E data mart started collecting data in June 2007 unless otherwise stated.
| NHS board | Site type | Location name | File type | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ayrshire & Arran | ED | University Hospital Ayr | E | |
| Ayrshire & Arran | ED | University Hospital Crosshouse | E | |
| Ayrshire & Arran | MIU/Other | Arran War Memorial Hospital | A | |
| Ayrshire & Arran | MIU/Other | Davidson Cottage Hospital | A | Closed from May-10 |
| Ayrshire & Arran | MIU/Other | Girvan Community Hospital | A | Opened from May-10 |
| Ayrshire & Arran | MIU/Other | Lady Margaret Hospital | A | Opened from Oct-07 |
| Borders | ED | Borders General Hospital | E | |
| Borders | MIU/Other | Hawick Cottage Hospital | A | |
| Borders | MIU/Other | Hay Lodge Hospital | A | |
| Borders | MIU/Other | Kelso Hospital | A | |
| Borders | MIU/Other | Knoll Hospital | A | |
| Dumfries & Galloway | ED | Dumfries & Galloway Royal Infirmary | E | |
| Dumfries & Galloway | ED | Galloway Community Hospital | E | Episode file from Dec-07 |
| Dumfries & Galloway | MIU/Other | Castle Douglas Hospital | A | |
| Dumfries & Galloway | MIU/Other | Kirkcudbright Hospital | A | |
| Dumfries & Galloway | MIU/Other | Moffat Hospital | A | |
| Dumfries & Galloway | MIU/Other | Newton Stewart Hospital | E | Episode file from Mar-12 |
| Fife | ED | Victoria Hospital | E | |
| Fife | MIU/Other | Adamson Hospital | E | Episode file from Oct-16 |
| Fife | MIU/Other | Queen Margaret Hospital | E | Changed from ED to MIU 19-Jan-12. Started Submitting episode level data in July-07 |
| Fife | MIU/Other | St Andrews Community Hospital | E | Episode file from Jul-17 |
| Forth Valley | ED | Forth Valley Royal Hospital | E | ED opened 12-Jul-11 |
| Forth Valley | ED | Stirling Royal Infirmary | E | Closed 12-Jul-11 |
| Forth Valley | MIU/Other | Stirling Health and Care Village | E | Opened as MIU 12-Jul-11 |
| Forth Valley | MIU/Other | Falkirk Community Hospital | E | MIU closed 12-Jul-11 |
| Grampian | ED | Aberdeen Royal Infirmary | E | |
| Grampian | ED | Dr Gray's Hospital | E | |
| Grampian | ED | Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital | E | |
| Grampian | MIU/Other | Aboyne Hospital | A | |
| Grampian | MIU/Other | Chalmers Hospital | A | |
| Grampian | MIU/Other | Fleming Cottage Hospital | A | |
| Grampian | MIU/Other | Forres Health & Care Centre | A | MIU opened 08-Sep-14 |
| Grampian | MIU/Other | Fraserburgh Hospital | A | |
| Grampian | MIU/Other | Insch War Memorial Hospital | A | |
| Grampian | MIU/Other | Inverurie Hospital | A | |
| Grampian | MIU/Other | Jubilee Hospital | A | |
| Grampian | MIU/Other | Kincardine Community Hospital | A | Aggregate file from Jun-12 |
| Grampian | MIU/Other | Leanchoil Hospital | A | MIU closed 07-Sep-14 |
| Grampian | MIU/Other | Peterhead Community Hospital | A | |
| Grampian | MIU/Other | Seafield Hospital | A | |
| Grampian | MIU/Other | Stephen Hospital | A | |
| Grampian | MIU/Other | Turner Memorial Hospital | A | |
| Grampian | MIU/Other | Turriff Hospital | A | |
| Greater Glasgow & Clyde | ED | Glasgow Royal Infirmary | E | |
| Greater Glasgow & Clyde | ED | Inverclyde Royal Hospital | E | |
| Greater Glasgow & Clyde | ED | Royal Alexandra Hospital | E | |
| Greater Glasgow & Clyde | ED | Royal Hospital for Children Glasgow | E | Moved from Yorkhill to SGUH 10-Jun-15 08:00 hrs. |
| Greater Glasgow & Clyde | ED | Queen Elizabeth University Hospital | E | Opened 02-May-15 08:00hrs. Re-named from SGUH 03-Jul-15. |
| Greater Glasgow & Clyde | ED | Southern General Hospital | E | Closed 02-May-15 08:00 hrs. |
| Greater Glasgow & Clyde | ED | Western Infirmary / Gartnavel General | E | ED closed 30-May-15 08:00 hrs |
| Greater Glasgow & Clyde | MIU/Other | New Stobhill Hospital | E | New Stobhill Hospital (formerly Stobhill Hospital) until 18 March 2011 this site had both an ED and MIU and from 18 March 2011 there was no ED on site. |
| Greater Glasgow & Clyde | MIU/Other | Vale of Leven District General Hospital | E | |
| Greater Glasgow & Clyde | MIU/Other | New Victoria Hospital | E | New Victoria Hospital (formerly Victoria Infirmary) this site had an ED and an MIU up until 16 May 2015 at 08:00 hrs when the ED closed and the site became an MIU only. |
| Greater Glasgow & Clyde | MIU/Other | West Glasgow Ambulatory Care Hospital | E | MIU opened 30-May-15 08:00 hrs. Closed 23-December-16 21:00 hrs. Re-Opened 3-Jan-18 and Closed 20-Apr-18. |
| Highland | ED | Belford Hospital | E | Episode file from Mar-11 |
| Highland | ED | Caithness General Hospital | E | Episode file from Mar-11 |
| Highland | ED | Lorn & Islands Hospital | E | Episode file from Apr-12 |
| Highland | ED | Raigmore Hospital | E | |
| Highland | MIU/Other | Aviemore Health Centre | A | |
| Highland | MIU/Other | Campbeltown Health Centre | A | Data label error - this should be Campbeltown Hospital |
| Highland | MIU/Other | Campbeltown Hospital | A | |
| Highland | MIU/Other | County Community Hospital - Invergordon | A | |
| Highland | MIU/Other | Cowal Community Hospital | A | |
| Highland | MIU/Other | Dunaros Hospital | A | Closed in Nov-12 - transfer of service to Mull & Iona Hospital |
| Highland | MIU/Other | Dunbar Hospital | A | |
| Highland | MIU/Other | Ian Charles Community Hospital | A | |
| Highland | MIU/Other | Islay Hospital | A | |
| Highland | MIU/Other | Lawson Memorial Hospital | A | |
| Highland | MIU/Other | Dr Mackinnon Memorial Hospital | A | |
| Highland | MIU/Other | Mid Argyll Community Hospital And Integrated Care Centre | A | |
| Highland | MIU/Other | Mid Argyll Hospital | A | Closed in 2006 - should be Mid Argyll Community Hospital And Integrated Care Centre |
| Highland | MIU/Other | Mull and Iona Community Hospital | A | Opened from Nov-12 |
| Highland | MIU/Other | Nairn Town and County Hospital | A | |
| Highland | MIU/Other | Portree Community Hospital | A | |
| Highland | MIU/Other | Ross Memorial Hospital | A | Closed 2-Nov-2018. |
| Highland | MIU/Other | Victoria Hospital | A | |
| Lanarkshire | ED | University Hospital Hairmyres | E | |
| Lanarkshire | ED | University Hospital Monklands | E | |
| Lanarkshire | ED | University Hospital Wishaw | E | |
| Lanarkshire | MIU/Other | Kello Hospital | E | Episode file from Mar-19 |
| Lanarkshire | MIU/Other | Lady Home Hospital | E | Episode file from Mar-19 |
| Lothian | ED | Royal Hospital for Sick Children Edinburgh | E | |
| Lothian | ED | Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh | E | |
| Lothian | ED | St John's Hospital | E | |
| Lothian | MIU/Other | Belhaven Hospital | A | Opened from Dec-07. Closed Oct-12 |
| Lothian | MIU/Other | Edington Cottage Hospital | A | Opened from Dec-07 |
| Lothian | MIU/Other | Western General Hospital | E | MIU & Acute Receiving Unit (ARU) on site |
| Orkney | ED | Balfour Hospital | E | Episode file from Jun-11. Changed to ED 01-Jan-14. |
| Shetland | ED | Gilbert Bain Hospital | E | |
| Tayside | ED | Ninewells Hospital | E | |
| Tayside | ED | Perth Royal Infirmary | E | |
| Tayside | MIU/Other | Aberfeldy Community Hospital | E | Opened from Sep-08. Closed Nov-15 |
| Tayside | MIU/Other | Arbroath Infirmary | E | |
| Tayside | MIU/Other | Blairgowrie Community Hospital | E | |
| Tayside | MIU/Other | Brechin Infirmary | E | |
| Tayside | MIU/Other | Crieff Community Hospital | E | Opened from Sep-08. Episode file from Nov-08 |
| Tayside | MIU/Other | Irvine Memorial Hospital | E | Closed from Jul-08 |
| Tayside | MIU/Other | Links Health Centre - Montrose | E | |
| Tayside | MIU/Other | Pitlochry Community Hospital | E | |
| Tayside | MIU/Other | St Margaret's Hospital | E | Opened from Sep-08 |
| Tayside | MIU/Other | Whitehills Health and Community Care Centre | E | |
| Western Isles | ED | Western Isles Hospital | E | |
| Western Isles | MIU/Other | St Brendan's Hospital | A | |
| Western Isles | MIU/Other | Uist & Barra Hospital | E |
Data source: the A&E datamart.
Last updated: 1 March 2021.
Official data release information
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Statistical designation
These are Official Statistics.
It is important that users understand that limitations may apply to the interpretation of this data, further details of which are presented in this report.
All official statistics should comply with the UK Statistics Authority’s Code of Practice which promotes the production and dissemination of official statistics that inform decision making.
Visit the UK Statistics Authority UK website to find out more about the Code of Practice.
Find out more about National Statistics on the UK Statistics Authority website.
Early access
Under terms of the "Pre-Release Access to Official Statistics (Scotland) Order 2008", PHS is obliged to publish information on those receiving Pre-Release Access ("Pre-Release Access" refers to statistics in their final form prior to publication). The standard maximum Pre-Release Access is five working days.
Shown below are details of those receiving standard Pre-Release Access.
Standard Pre-Release Access
- Scottish Government Health Department
- NHS board chief executives
- NHS board communication leads
Useful unscheduled care resources
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System Watch
Urgent care and emergency services across NHS Scotland are subject to seasonal variation and other sources of variation in demand. This demand increases particularly during the winter period.
System Watch aims to:
- monitor and predict the emergency activity in hospitals
- provide supporting information gathered from sources across the NHS
Daily or weekly data comes from: NHS boards, Public Health Scotland, Scottish Ambulance Service, NHS 24, Primary Care Out of Hours service, A&E services and National Records of Scotland. Hospital admissions and beds occupied predictions are available one to six weeks ahead and are based on:
- on seasonal and weekly variation – including weekend and public holidays
- current emergency admission activity
Information is available at the following levels:
- national
- NHS board
- Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP)
- hospital
Discovery
Discovery is an online tool jointly managed by NHS boards, the Scottish Government and Public Health Scotland.
It allows you to access a range of comparative information to support performance and quality improvement.
The information can help NHS boards to review performance, benchmark against peers and identify areas where resources can be targeted to address local health and care needs.
You can view the data by NHS board of treatment or residence.
Depending on your security access, data is available from a high-level health board overview to low-level person-centred information.
Wider impacts
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Scottish Government urgent and unscheduled care policy
The Urgent and Unscheduled Care Collaborative will see health boards adopt a number of measures to reduce A&E waiting times and improve patient experience, including offering alternatives to hospital–based treatment.
People will also be offered scheduled urgent appointments to avoid long waits in A&E.
Metadata
- Publication title
-
A&E activity in Scotland
- Description
-
This publication provides weekly and monthly information on activity in Accident and Emergency (A&E) departments across Scotland
- Theme
-
Health and Social Care
- Topic
-
Unscheduled care
- Format
-
HTML
- Data source(s)
-
Public Health Scotland (PHS) delayed discharge monthly data submission.
- Date that data are acquired
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Number of attendances
How long people wait
Who attends
Why people attend
When do people attend
These data were submitted by NHS boards to Public Health Scotland in July 2022.
- Release date
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5 July 2022
- Frequency
-
Monthly
- Timeframe of data and timeliness
-
Data are available for publication within six to eight weeks of the census month.
- Continuity of data
-
NHS boards submit delayed discharge information to PHS for national reporting purposes.
Revised data definitions manual and national data requirements were effective 1 July 2016. For detailed changes to the definitions since 2005, see page 2 of the latest Delayed Discharge Definitions Manual effective 1 July 2016 and a summary of changes and impact on national reporting. Limited trend information is available pre and post July 2016 due to the definitional changes and relevant notes have been added to the tables to explain this.
Some NHS boards used the EDISON system to record people delayed in their discharge from hospital. During 2018 EDISON was retired and affected boards migrated to their own local system solutions. NHS boards are still required to report on delayed discharges as specified in the data definitions and national reporting requirements effective 1 July 2016, therefore figures remain comparable and we do not expect any reduction in the quality of the data.
- Revisions statement
-
Figures contained within each publication may also be subject to change in future publications. Further detail can be found on the about our statistics section of the website.
- Revisions relevant to this publication
-
This publication has revisions to census figures. Following the consultation on delayed discharges, the census figures, from July 2016 onwards, now include delays due to infection control measures in place at hospital or care home (delay reason codes 26X and 46X) under Code 9-other reasons.
- Concepts and definitions
- Relevance and key uses of the statistics
-
Key uses of delayed discharge information include monitoring policy obligations both locally and nationally, helping to troubleshoot in partnership areas with specific problems, facilitating benchmarking with other areas, identifying the potential release of resources to focus on more appropriate care and providing useful dialogue between health and social care agencies.
Delayed discharge information is also used to respond to information requests (including FOI requests) from a variety of customers and parliamentary questions.
- Accuracy
-
The data are considered accurate. Data are validated locally by partnerships. PHS carry out further validation checks in consultation with NHS boards.
- Completeness
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100% of the data is used for analysis.
- Comparability
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Data are not comparable out with Scotland.
- Accessibility
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It is the policy of Public Health Scotland (PHS) to make its web sites and products accessible according to published guidelines.
- Coherence and clarity
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All delayed discharge reports are available on this website. Tables and charts are presented within an interactive Excel workbook with drop down boxes.
- Value type and unit of measurement
-
Number of delays by length and reason at the census point.
Number of bed days occupied by delayed patients in a calendar month.
Number of discharges from hospital following a period of delay in a calendar month. - Disclosure
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The PHS protocol on statistical disclosure is followed.
- Official Statistics designation
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National Statistics
- UK Statistics Authority Assessment
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The statistics last underwent a full full assessment by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) against the Code of Practice in September 2011.
- Last published
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7 June 2022
- Next published
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2 August 2022
- Date of first publication
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Historic quarterly data published from December 2000
Monthly data published from June 2015
First annual publication in June 2016 - Help email
- Date form completed
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16 June 2022
Glossary
- Accident & Emergency (A&E) services
Collectively the term Accident and Emergency (A&E) services includes the following site types:
- emergency departments
- minor injury units (MIUs)
- community A&Es or community casualty departments that are GP or nurse-led
- Admission
Admission to a hospital bed in the same NHS hospital following an attendance at an ED service.
- Aggregate file (A)
Monthly summary attendance figures only
- Attendance
The presence of a patient in an A&E service seeking medical attention.
- Emergency department
Includes larger A&E services that typically provide a 24-hour emergency medicine service.
They are consultant-led services.
- Episode file (E)
A detailed record for each attendance.
- MIU/other
Includes minor injuries units (MIU), small hospitals and health centres in rural areas that carry out emergency department related activity.
Are GP or nurse-led services.
- Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation
The Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation is an area-based measurement of multiple deprivation ranking areas based on 38 indicators spanning seven dimensions of deprivation:
- employment
- income
- health
- education
- housing
- geographic access to services
- crime
Contacts
General enquiries
If you have an enquiry relating to this publication, please email phs.unscheduledcare@phs.scot.
Media enquiries
If you have a media enquiry relating to this publication, please contact the Communications and Engagement team.
Requesting other formats and reporting issues
If you require publications or documents in other formats, please email phs.otherformats@phs.scot.
To report any issues with a publication, please email phs.generalpublications@phs.scot.