A&E waiting times at an all time low
26 Aug 2008 04:59 PM
Waiting times for treatment in Scotland's accident and emergency departments are at a record low, according to figures published today.
The statistics on NHS waiting times and waiting lists also show that the NHS is continuing to reduce waiting times for patients, effectively meeting national maximum waiting times targets, including for first outpatient consultations, hospital inpatient and day case treatment.
Among the key statistics included in today's figures are:
- During June 2008, 98.3 per cent of patients spent less than four hours in A&E between arrival and admission, transfer or discharge - the best performance ever by NHS Scotland
- On June 30 2008, only two patients waited more than nine weeks for key diagnostic tests - again the best performance ever by NHS Scotland
This is the second quarter that waiting times have been published in a revised form - designed to provide a complete and open picture of waiting times in Scotland's hospitals. The New Ways system abolished the hidden waiting lists caused by availability status codes.
Public Health Minister Shona Robison said:
"Cutting waiting times is a clear priority for this Scottish Government to ensure patients get the treatment they need as quickly as possible.
"It's also important that they have a clear understanding of when they can expect to receive their treatment and our new ways of publishing waiting time statistics does just that. The unprecedented levels of transparency offered by the new system means patients are no longer at risk of finding themselves banished to a hidden waiting list.
"Today's statistics, released by ISD Scotland, show an overall impressive performance from the NHS in Scotland, effectively meeting all our challenging national maximum waiting times targets.
"This is very good news for patients but it is not the end of the story.
"We cannot afford to be complacent and that's why we are supporting boards to further cut waiting times for patients. We are currently working towards a 'whole journey' maximum waiting time of 18 weeks from GP referral to treatment, to be delivered by the end of 2011."
New ways of defining and measuring waiting times came into effect on January 1, 2008 when availability status codes - the practice of hidden waiting lists - were abolished.
Those who are unavailable for treatment remain on the waiting list, flagged as suspended but crucially reviewed at intervals of three months of less. They are entitled to treatment within the maximum waiting time, plus any period of unavailability.
A patient may be unavailable for medical (eg. unfit to undergo procedure) or social (eg. on holiday) reasons.
The NHS in Scotland is continuing to effectively meet national maximum waiting times targets for first outpatient consultations, hospital inpatient and day case treatment, key diagnostic tests, the diagnosis and treatment of coronary heart disease and attendance at A&E.
Eight key diagnostic tests are currently subject to the national standard of 95 per cent to be treated within nine weeks. These tests are upper endoscopy, lower endoscopy, colonoscopy, cystoscopy, barium studies, CT scans, MRI scans and ultrasound.