hospital waiting room

Scotland miss A&E wait time targets again

New Public Health Department records show that Scotland’s A&E waiting times have hit a record low, with only 70.9% of those who visited A&E this past week being seen within 4 hours.

Figures have shown that there were 24,116 attendees the week ending October 17th, two-thousand lower than the previous week and the lowest number since May.

Only 3 NHS boards (NHS Western Isles, NHS Shetland and NHS Orkney), hit the 95% target set, with less than 300 attendees between them all.

Here is how all the Scottish NHS Boards performed:

NHS Boards Attendees % seen in 4 hours

NHS Ayrshire & Arran

1,680

74.4

NHS Borders

522

82.4

NHS Dumfries & Galloway

751

81.4

NHS Fife

1,096

72.9

NHS Forth Valley

1,159

46.9

NHS Grampian

1,707

75

NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde

6,024

67.1

NHS Highland

1,123

84.5

NHS Lanarkshire

3,758

62.1

NHS Lothian

4,582

71.1

NHS Orkney

94

95.7

NHS Shetland

115

97.4

NHS Tayside

1,442

92.9

NHS Western Isles

63

98.4

Scotland

24,116

70.9

Source: Public Health Scotland

A spokesperson for the Scottish Government says: ‘Our NHS staff have faced unprecedented pressures as they work tirelessly and consistently to respond to the pandemic while continuing to provide vital treatment and optimal patient care. The Health Secretary has been very clear that this winter is likely to be the most challenging in the history of the NHS.’Source: Public Health Scotland 

1,786 people spent more than 8 hours in A&E during the same week and 515 spent over 12 hours.

According to the Scottish Government website: ‘95% of all A&E patients should be admitted, discharged or transferred within four hours of arrival at an A&E department across NHS Scotland (including Minor Injury Units).’. The last time Scotland’s A&E times hit this target was July 2020.

This marks the third week in a row that the percentage of those seen at A&E within the 4-hour target has drop and with a challenging winter ahead, many are concerned this pattern could be set to continue.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader, Alex Cole-Hamilton says: ‘The health secretary cannot expect to muddle on and for the Army to bail him out. If staff are to be convinced to stay, we need to see long-term options on the table, including an honest workforce management plan and a revised NHS Recovery Plan.

Jan/Feb

NHE January/February 2024

Boosting NHS productivity demands a healthy dose of realism

Dive into our latest edition for January/February!

Videos...

View all videos
Online Conference

Presenting

2024 Online Conferences

In partnership with our community of health sector leaders responsible for delivering the UK's health strategy across the NHS and the wider health sector, we’ve devised a collaborative calendar of conferences and events for industry leaders to listen, learn and collaborate through engaging and immersive conversation. 

All our conferences are CPD accredited, which means you can gain points to advance your career by attending our online conferences. Also, the contents are available on demand so you can re-watch at your convenience.

National Health Executive Podcast

Ep 41. The truth about drones in the NHS

In episode 41 of the National Health Executive podcast, we were joined by Dr Angela Smith, research fellow at Bournemouth University, and Andy Oakey, research fellow at the University of Southampton, to discuss the viability of drones within the NHS transport system.

More articles...

View all