Scottish Government
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Reducing NHS waiting times
Health boards across Scotland are been given extra Government cash to help bring down NHS waiting times.
This year, each board will get a share of £270 million to put into effect an 18 week GP referral to treatment maximum waiting time guarantee for patients by 2011.
Today, Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon will also tell MSPs about further proposals which are currently out for consultation as part of the forthcoming Patients Rights Bill.
These include plans for a 12 week waiting time guarantee for surgery.
Ms Sturgeon said:
"The Patients Rights Bill will place patients at the very centre of the NHS in Scotland, creating a culture where NHS patients and staff become real partners.
"Across Scotland, patients and their families tell me that access to swift and safe treatment remains a key issue for them.
"That is why we are putting a waiting time guarantee at the heart of our Patients Rights Bill.
"The Scottish Government is also making available £270 million to make sure that by 2011, patients in Scotland will wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral by their GP to treatment.
"This will provide assurances in what can be a time of anxiety, worry and stress for many patients."
The Patients Rights Bill Consultation was launched on September 22, 2008 and runs until January 16, 2009. The Scottish Government is committed to introducing the Patient Rights Bill in 2010.
The Scottish Government's new waiting time guarantee sets out that once in-patient or day case treatment has been agreed as the most appropriate way forward between the clinician and the patient, treatment will take place within 12 weeks. This guarantee will operate within an overall referral to treatment patient journey of 18 weeks.
£270 million is being made available to NHS Boards over the next three years, specifically to reduce waiting times. £90 million will be allocated in 2008/09.
NHS Board 2008/09
(share of £90m)
- NHS Ayrshire and Arran £6.99
- NHS Borders £2.043
- NHS Dumfries and Galloway £2.916
- NHS Fife £6.192
- NHS Forth Valley £4.833
- NHS Grampian £8.298
- NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde £22.185
- NHS Highland £5.86
- NHS Lanarkshire £9.72
- NHS Lothian £12.33
- NHS Orkney £0.378
- NHS Shetland £0.414
- NHS Tayside £7.182
- NHS Western Isles £0.666
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