WIREDGOV

Waiting times figures published after challenging winter.

The NHS in Scotland has treated more than 750,000 patients within the 12 weeks treatment time guarantee, since the legal guarantee was introduced in October 2012.

This figure comes as official waiting time statistics for January to March 2015 show that 94.5 per cent of inpatients and day-case patients were treated within 12 weeks.

Commenting on the figures, Health Secretary Shona Robison said that last winter had been very challenging for health boards but more must be done to maintain and improve on performance.

More than 70 per cent of those not seen within 12 weeks were patients in NHS Lothian, NHS Highland and NHS Grampian.

These health board are implementing plans to ensure delivery during 2015 and earlier this year the Scottish Government committed its support through a £10 million investment from the £31.5 million Performance Fund to target boards needing extra support to deliver on waiting times.

In addition to this funding, the Scottish Government last week announced further funding of £1.5 million for the Golden Jubilee National Hospital to carry out an additional 1,550 operations each year. This will come into force in September and will mean patients from across Scotland will receive faster treatment, helping health boards manage increases in demand and clear backlogs.

Health Secretary Shona Robison said yesterday:

“Health boards across Scotland continue to deliver some of the lowest waiting times on record, with three quarters of a million patients treated within our 12 week treatment time guarantee since it was introduced in October 2012.

“However, last winter was extremely challenging for our health boards, and this Government acknowledges that more must be done to maintain and improve on performance in order to meet the rightly demanding targets we have set. Patients should expect nothing less.

“That is why we are taking a series of actions to boost performance, cut waiting times and deliver on the commitments made. For example, we are investing in targeted support where it is needed most. This includes last week’s funding of £1.5 million to the Golden Jubilee which will enable the hospital to deliver an extra 1500 operations as well as recruit additional clinical staff and allow for weekend surgeries.

“This will help free up capacity at other health boards and mean that patients from across Scotland get faster treatment.

“Earlier in the year we also announced £10 million from our Performance Fund which went to NHS Lothian, NHS Highland and the Golden Jubilee National Hospital. This funding is kicking in and now being used to increase capacity, support additional consultants and allow for weekend surgeries and we would expect this to be reflected in waiting time performance going forward.

“NHS Grampian has also invested £5 million of its uplift share to support the delivery of the 12 week treatment time guarantee in 2015/16.

“With an ageing population the NHS in Scotland is facing different challenges to a decade ago and it is vital that we support health boards as they continue to adapt to meet these new demands.

"Delivering our world leading, 12 week treatment time guarantee for three quarters of a million people is an achievement of which our hardworking NHS staff should be proud. But today’s figures show there is still substantial work to do, both in the short term to recover from the winter and then to move towards delivering for every patient, every time.

“That is why we have the solid fundamentals of record staffing and record funding in place to help our NHS ensure all patients in Scotland are treated as quickly and as effectively as possible.”

Also published yesterday was the 18 week referral to treatment standard, which shows that 88.5 per cent of patients were seen and treated within the time frame in March 2015,

In addition, 91.2 per cent of patients waiting for key diagnostic tests were seen in six weeks or less as of 31 March 2015.

Notes To Editors

Latest waiting time figures are available here: http://www.isdscotland.org/

The 12 week treatment time guarantee is the maximum waiting time patients should wait for planned treatment. It was introduced in October 2012 for all patients due to receive treatment as an inpatient or on a day case basis.

During the quarter ending March 2015 there were 4,499 waits over 12 weeks. The three boards with the highest level of breaches are Grampian (635), Highland (1,103) and Lothian (1,486). This equates to more than 70 per cent of all waits over 12 weeks.

Earlier this year the Scottish Government invested £10 million from its £31.5 million Performance Fund to help boards needing additional support. As part of this NHS Lothian received up to £3 million and NHS Highland up to £6 million to improve the entire patient journey from referral to treatment, as well as expand diagnostic and treatment capacity.

The Golden Jubilee meanwhile received around £1 million to further expand its orthopaedic capacity, which will benefit patients across the whole of Scotland from July. NHS Grampian is also investing £5 million of its uplift share to support the delivery of the 12 week treatment time guarantee in 2015/16.