MORE than 95 percent of accident and emergency patients were treated within the target time set by the Scottish Government for the third week since the start of June, new figures have revealed.
In the week ending Sunday July 16, 95.3 percent of patients in accident and emergency were seen and subsequently admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours – meeting the Scottish Government’s interim target of 95 percent.
Emergency departments were visited by 24,964 patients over the seven-day period, who were treated for broken bones, stubbed toes, excessive alcohol intake and everything in between.
Only 55 patients were kept in A&E for eight hours or more. Seven others were there for more than 12 hours – accounting for less than 0.1 percent of the total admitted.
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The figures, published by the Information Services Division, part of NHS Scotland, also highlighted that all “core sites” were found to be running above 90 per cent performance.
A “pleased” health secretary Shona Robison said she was happy “to see this improved performance across Scotland’s core accident-and-emergency sites”.
She continued: “I’d like to thank all the staff who are involved in this effort, not just in A&E, but also those elsewhere in the hospital and social care system who make sure that patients are able to flow through the system with minimum delay”.
The figures are encouraging for the NHS in Scotland, which is striving to meet the government’s Local Delivery Plan (LDP) standard.
Set in 2015, the LDP standard states that 95 percent of patients should wait fewer than four hours from arrival to admission, discharge or transfer for accident and emergency treatment. Boards are being asked to use the 95 percent marker and as springboard to reach the eventual goal of 98 percent.
The four-hour accident and emergency waiting time standard is required for all sites that carry out accident and emergency activity in Scotland, including 30 emergency departments that provide a 24-hour, consultant-led emergency medicine service.
A further 62 locations in Scotland provide accident and emergency services in Scotland, but are responsible for a mere twenty percent of admissions and five percent of four-hour waiting time breaches.
The latest figures were an increase from the week ending Sunday July 9, when 94.5 percent of those admitted to emergency departments were transferred or discharged within four hours.
Robison attributed the improved waiting times to continued collaboration with health boards and efficiency measures.
She said: “Working with boards there has been a real focus in recent years on making accident-and-emergency departments as streamlined as possible and reducing delayed discharge further along the chain.
“This has undoubtedly played a part in ensuring that Scotland’s A&Es have outperformed those in the rest of the UK for more than two years.
“Our six essential actions for unscheduled care, backed with £9 million of new investment this year, will continue to help us keep waits to a minimum”.
The six essential actions for improving unscheduled care include focussing on patient management over bed management, seven-day services organised so as to reduce variation in weekend and out-of-hours working and ensuring patients are provided with the best possible care in their homes.
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