To ask the Minister of Health (i) whether an assessment has been made of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine's September 2025 press release on excess deaths associated with long waits in Scotland’s Emergency Departments before admission in 2024; and (ii) to detail the number of similarly associated excess deaths in Northern Ireland using the Standard Mortality Ratio, in 2024.

I recognise the serious concerns raised by prolonged waiting times in our Emergency Departments and continue to work with Trusts and community services to implement a range of actions aimed at improving patient flow and reducing delays for patients. My Department works closely with the Royal College of Emergency Medicine and other professional bodies to look at how best we can improve flow in our hospitals.

Through work with the GIRFT Emergency Medicine Team, my Department is aware of the Standard Mortality Ratio methodology which estimates excess deaths related to stays of 12-hours or longer before being admitted to a hospital bed. However, My Department does not hold specific data on the number of excess deaths associated with long waits in Emergency Departments. Determining causality in such cases is complex and not possible due to limitations in current data collection systems.

In 2025/26, I am determined to find better ways to work as a system to tackle waiting times in EDs. That is why I initiated a series of winter planning workshops to identify solutions to the system flow issues that we collectively face. The workshops saw attendance from HSC leaders across the system, including Royal Colleges, clinicians, and other frontline services.

I hope to publish my Winter Preparedness Plan imminently. The plan will identify other steps that my Department and key partners are taking to help manage pressures.

Ultimately, all of these measures are aimed at improving flow throughout the hospital, reducing congestion in our EDs and improving waiting times.

These efforts are part of a broader system-wide approach to ensure patients receive timely, safe, and effective care, both within EDs and across the wider health and social care system.