SCOTTISH health secretary Neil Gray was told today to take “urgent action” over “appalling” statistics that showed emergency department waits worsened across every metric in Scotland.

Just 62.7 per cent — or 16,660 patients — were seen and subsequently admitted, transferred or discharged within the four-hour target time in the week ending March 31.

That is down from 65.3 per cent — or 17,588 patients — the previous week, according to figures from Public Health Scotland (PHS).

Patients waiting longer than half a day in A&E also worsened in the week ending March 31, with 5.4 per cent of attendances taking more than 12 hours to be treated – up from 5 per cent the previous week.

Attendances waiting more than eight hours also increased to 3,455 (13 per cent), up from 2,227 (12 per cent) the previous week.

Scottish Labour health spokeswoman Dame Jackie Baillie said: “Neil Gray inherited an NHS in turmoil thanks to the mismanagement of his predecessors — including Humza Yousaf — but he cannot waste any more time getting to grips with this crisis.

“We need urgent action to ease the pressure on A&E and keep patients safe, including support for staff and a real plan to tackle delayed discharge.”

Scottish Tory health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane accused the Scottish government of “appalling mismanagement” that has resulted in “catastrophic” A&E stats.

A Scottish government spokeswoman said: “The pressure being felt by our A&E departments is not unique to Scotland, with similar challenges being felt by emergency departments throughout the UK and beyond.

“We will continue to work collaboratively with health boards to develop services and support sustained improvement.“