Scottish Labour has called for an independent audit of what it described as Scotland’s “hidden hospital waiting lists”.
The length of time patients have to wait in so called “assessment units” – where patients can be sent by their GP – is “not transparently monitored”, according to the party.
It comes after an elderly man died on a trolley at the flagship Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow after waiting eight hours for treatment last week.
The Scottish Government said there are 27 acute assessment units across the country “which have evolved in different ways according to local circumstances and needs – some operate as inpatient wards, and some have a mix of trolleys and beds”.
Around half of the units have a separate area for patients referred direct to the hospital by GPs for admission or assessment to avoid them having to wait to be seen by another doctor in the emergency department.
The Government said around 40% of patients return home in less than 24 hours.
Scottish Labour’s public services spokesman and former GP Dr Richard Simpson said: “Now more than ever we need an NHS with the resources to deliver care based on clinical need, not the ability to pay.
“Our NHS staff perform miracles each and every day. The stories we are hearing coming out of hospitals like the Queen Elizabeth are sickening, with staff in tears or ill with stress. NHS staff and patients deserve better.
“We know that under the SNP NHS staff are undervalued, under resourced and under intolerable pressure but the reality is we do not have the full picture because of these hidden waiting lists.
“It cannot be right that the length of time a patient waits for treatment is measured if they go through one door, but not another. Treatment in our NHS shouldn’t be a postcode lottery; we need to know what is happening to patients in these units.
“The SNP Government introduced a string of waiting time targets in our NHS, and boast of the transparency of their performance. But they are silent on this. After eight years in government, a majority in parliament and more power than any Scottish administration before them their approach to this matter is typical of their arrogance in office.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Long unnecessary waits on trolleys anywhere in a hospital are unacceptable and we’re clear patients must be appropriately and safely monitored in any facility by health boards. Prior to 2007, these waits were not monitored.
“We’re already working with the Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh to share best practice across the different assessment units in place across the country, including sharing information on clinical models and clear and common methods of monitoring.
“As part of this work, we will consider whether these units should be subject to further common standards or targets.
“Our NHS is more open and transparent than ever before and we publish far more statistics under this Government than any other administration has ever done – including being the only part of the UK to publish weekly A&E statistics.”