Nicola Sturgeon has admitted the NHS is facing “crisis conditions” over the scandal of long waits for care.
The First Minister also warned the health service is about to endure the “hardest” winter in living memory.
The SNP Government is under immense pressure over key parts of the NHS.
Waiting times for an ambulance have soared to an average of six hours, while the performance in accident and emergency has also worsened.
At Holyrood, Sturgeon was accused by Tory MSP Sandesh Gulhane of not using the word “crisis”.
She responded: “I think I said last week and I will say again today - the NHS is facing crisis conditions, as a result of a global pandemic.
“It's facing crisis conditions here in Scotland, and it is facing crisis conditions in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.”
She added that NHS staff do not “need me to worry about what we call it”, but instead need the government to take “action”.
She also said: “I do believe and consider that this will be the hardest winter that the NHS has faced in any of our memories."
According to statistics released by Public Health Scotland, just 71.5% of people who went to A&E in the week of September 12 were seen and subsequently discharged or admitted to hospital within four hours.
The Scottish Government’s target is 95%.
The figure fell further from the week before, when 74.6% of those who attended A&E were dealt with in four hours.
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