Almost one in five Scots called NHS 24 to seek emergency medical advice Hang last year, people endured a “shock” waiting for four hours.
Official data shows that 317,000 of the 1.65 million calls were abandoned in 2024, or 19.2%.
During the peak month of December, 43,528 people hung on the NHS 24-year-old or 26% as the average call time soared from 18 to 42 minutes.
In 2023, the average time is about 12 minutes.
Data obtained by Scottish conservatives using Freedom of Information Act also suggests that some have experienced “amazingly long” waiting.
The maximum time for the answer was over 90 minutes in each month last year, but the waiting time was more than four hours in June and September.
The Professional Health Commission said in its reply to the Conservative Party that many callers made the “wise choice” to hang up and “call later and then answer.”
Dr Sandesh Gulhane, a health spokesman for the Scottish Conservative Party, described “another abominable example” of SNP’s failure to invest in frontline NHS services.
Sandesh Gulhane, Scottish conservative health spokesman
He said the numbers highlighted the inability of SNP to address GP shortages and A&E waiting times, pushing people to the national hotline.
When NHS 24 came under fire for its performance last year, Health Minister Neil Gray insisted that the government “reduce unresolved calls.”
In his written parliamentary answer, he said its “Key Performance Indicators” had been revised to “better reflect and understand the current demand for services”.
This will help identify “any potential risk of the caller having tried to access 111 multiple times without success” and allowing the service to continue to improve”.
Dr. Guhan said that the ongoing problem is unacceptable.
“It’s shocking that one in five Scots are forced to give up calls to NHS 24. For those lucky patients, they have to endure a truly shocking wait.
“Even in the summer, patients have to wait four hours to get through, and at the peak of winter, the failure of SNP to support NHS 24 clearly pushed the service to a breakthrough point.”
John Swinney will present an additional date for 100,000 GP practices this week at the heart of the government plan for the coming year.
SNP Health Minister Neil Gray has been criticized for his performance on the NHS
But doctors warn that there are not enough staff to make changes, even if the increase to 17 million appointments last year was less than 1%.
Dr. Guhan added: “These numbers also reflect the desperate shortage of GPS and chronic A&E waiting time, and John Sweeney has no reliable plans to address these issues – as we saw this week for the government’s ThreadBare program.
“These statistics have to be an emergency alarm bell for the SNP minister to ultimately ensure that money reaches where we need it most in our NHS, rather than wasting meaningless bureaucracy.”
NHS 24 describes itself as “a digital health and care provider in Scotland”.
It advises people to call 111 if they think they need A&E but their condition is not a “life or physical threat” or if they are in a mental health dilemma, or their GP, pharmacy or dental proactively shut down.
NHS 24 said that if they face a life-threatening emergency, callers are advised to hang up and call 999 through the automated messaging service.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘NHS 24 continues to work hard to ensure that the call for its 111 service is answered as soon as possible.
“Telephone calls to the 111 service may not be answered for a number of reasons, including the option to end the caller after connecting to the automatic messaging service and listen to the available options for them – including the NHS 24 callback service during busy periods.
“Other options include accessing self-care advice through the NHS Inform website, or connecting with another area of health services, which may be more suitable for their needs.”
Joanne Edwards, Director of Service Delivery for NHS 24, said: ‘NHS 24 plays an important role in NHS Scotland, and our hardworking and dedicated staff can help patients with proper care 24 hours a day, 365 days a week, 24 hours a day.
‘In 2024/25, 21.2% of calls will be answered within one minute.
“Some callers decide to hang up (stop) their call to 111 and then make a call later or choose a more appropriate care route.
NHS 24 also introduced a call feature, which received positive patient feedback. This allows callers to request a return call during high demand, providing flexibility and reducing phone waiting time without affecting where they are queued.
NHS 24 remains committed to providing active patient travel to all of our callers. Our processes are continuously monitored and reviewed to improve access and deliver the best results. ”
