The Scottish Government is to invest £1 million over the next year to increase the number of consultants working in A&E.
The investment is part of an emergency care action plan being agreed by the Government and doctors to ensure patients are seen quickly in hospitals.
It comes as the health service experiences higher levels of flu, norovirus and respiratory illness this winter, resulting in NHS boards reporting a rise in admissions.
Emergency admission rates are also strongly related to patient age and are expected to increase long-term given the ageing population.
The numbers of consultants have already increased from 76 (working-time equivalent) in September 2006, to 144 (working time equivalent) in September 2012.
The additional funding would pay for about 10 consultants, the Government confirmed.
Health Secretary Alex Neil said: "We are developing an unscheduled care action plan which will give renewed focus to the NHS in preparing for the future demands on our health service due to an ageing population.
"NHS boards plan well in advance for winter and we work closely with them to do that - including providing an extra £3 million to help manage winter pressures - to make sure that people do not have to wait longer than necessary to be treated.
"But we are seeing more people than ever before coming to hospital as emergency admissions due to the increase in the ageing population. So, it's only right that we look at how we can do things better and improve how quickly people are seen in our hospitals and how quickly we can get them back on their feet at home."
Mr Neil said research showed that the faster a patient is seen by a consultant, the fewer delays they experience during their hospital stay. He said: "That is why the first task of our action plan is to increase the number of A&E consultants working in our hospitals. We have already seen an increase in these specialists but our extra £1 million investment will see this process speeded up."
