Failure to hit A&E waiting times targets has become the norm for the Scottish Government, the Liberal Democrats have claimed.

The latest official monthly figures show 92% of the 144,638 patients were seen within the four-hour target time in August, under the 95% goal.

This has dropped marginally from 93% the previous month and is down 3% from August 2017, the last time the monthly target was met.

Just under a quarter (24%) of patients attending A&E in August were admitted to hospital.

Meanwhile, the weekly performance is at 88.7%, with 316 patients waiting more than eight hours and 75 waiting more than 12.

Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesman Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “Performance against the A&E waiting time has dipped below 90% for three weeks in a row now.

“That hasn’t happened since April. The public will be worried about how the NHS will cope through busy winter months if it is struggling this much already.

“The process is far from seamless and that’s because there aren’t enough resources at each and every stage. Scotland’s social care system is under unprecedented pressure and as a result blocked beds are stopping other people leaving A&E.

“Missing this target has become the norm. People demand better from the Scottish Government.”

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: “The latest monthly figures show that in August we continued to see and treat more than nine out of 10 patients within four hours.

“Scotland’s core accident and emergency departments have outperformed those in the rest of the UK for more than three years.

“But clearly there continues to be significant improvement needed and we are working closely with those hospitals that are experiencing challenges to make improvements.”

She said £10 million has been invested to help health services prepare for winter.