Help Sitemap Home Skip Navigation Contact Us Disability Statement


Scots NHS waiting times less than 12 weeks

Premium Article !

Your account has been frozen. For your available options click the below button.

Options

Premium Article !

To read this article in full you must have registered and have a Premium Content Subscription with the The Scotsman site.

Subscribe

Registered Article !

To read this article in full you must be registered with the site.

Sign In
Register
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image

Published Date: 27 May 2009
PATIENTS needing a hospital appointment in Scotland are now waiting less than 12 weeks, figures showed yesterday.
The statistics showed that 99.9 per cent of patients needing an outpatient appointment were not waiting longer than 12 weeks.

And 99.7 per cent of those needing inpatient care were waiting less than this time.

But a target for A&E waiting times is being missed, according to figures from ISD Scotland. Some 97.7 per cent of A&E patients were treated, admitted or discharged within four hours, compared with a target of 98 per cent.

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said of the overall figures: "This is quite an astonishing performance by NHS Scotland."

But she said there is more to do and boards must direct efforts to reaching a "whole journey" target for 18 weeks from GP referral to treatment by the end of 2011.





The full article contains 154 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 26 May 2009 9:39 PM
  • Source: The Scotsman
  • Location: Edinburgh
  • Related Topics: Health of the NHS
 
1

CentreScot,

West Lothian 27/05/2009 15:40:56
Let us hope that these times deteriorate. I am sure they do not represent a bigger and better health service but reflect that money has been thrown at waitng times. It is difficult to imagine that if even the least significant problems are being treated quickly, it is not at the expense of more clinically urgent issues waiting longer.

A&E waiting times being met will lead to more using A&E as a substitute for General Practice. Incomplete diagnosis and unnecessary admission to hospital is the result of the four-hour rush. Some of these forced admissions become the bed-blockers of the future, unless like this government you define bed-blocking as a six week extension to a necessary (if necessary) period of treatment. Sounds like a recipe for over-crowding of scarce hospital capacity. Re-defining delayed discharge to any period in excess of that required for essential therapy would sort out that form of boasting about targets achieved.

 

Comment on this Story

 

In order to post comments you must Register or Sign In

 
 
RSS Feed of this article's comments
Delivery formats: RSS, Atom, Javascript & Email
 
  

 
 

More Health of the NHS

More Health of the NHS >>

Today's Vote

Should the Western General ditch its fresh-cooked meals to make more room?
Yes, it’s cheaper to bring in food from elsewhere
No, patients need decent food to help them get better
Maybe, it depends what they make room for

Web Links:

Featured Advertising



Sister Newspapers:
Press Complaints Commission

This website and its associated newspaper adheres to the Press Complaints Commission’s Code of Practice. If you have a complaint about editorial content which relates to inaccuracy or intrusion, then contact the Editor by clicking here.

If you remain dissatisfied with the response provided then you can contact the PCC by clicking here.