A& E Targets Missed Again

Accident and Emergency patients are still waiting longer for treatment than they should have to.

The Scottish Government says wards missed targets between October and December because they treated an extra 9,000 people.

Ministers say nine out of 10 patients were seen within four hours - eight percent short of the standard set by MSPs.

A total of 1,645,200 Scots attendended A&E in 2014, the highest number of any year on record.

£100million is being spent to tackle delayed discharges - known as bed blocking - while £50million is going towards an unscheduled care plan.

Nursing leaders say the NHS lacks the right staff and resources.

Health Secretary Shona Robison praised staff for working to see patients quickly and said that this winter has seen unprecedented pressures on A&E departments.

Ms Robison said: “Staff in Scotland’s NHS have done a terrific job over what has been a very challenging time and I’d like to thank them for all their work as they cope with an increase in the number of patients and an increase in those being admitted.

“These factors have clearly impacted on performance and today’s figures do not meet the demanding, world leading targets we have set and the standards that patients rightly demand. 

"We are determined to improve performance, which is why have been taking substantial action to ease pressure on the front door of the hospital, as well as concentrating on the timely discharge of patients.

“This year there is a lot of action being taken forward to address the implications of an ageing population on our health service, including the integration of health and social care, our review into how out of hours care operates and the on-going work to tackle delayed discharge.”

Theresa Fyffe, RCN Scotland Director said the longer waiting times at A&E are "a symptom of a system that is struggling to cope with the ever-increasing demand it is under".

She said: "I’m glad the Scottish Government is taking steps to address this. It’s not fair for standards in patient care to suffer because the right staff and resources are not in place. This means surgery ends up being cancelled, people are admitted to the wrong ward due to a lack of beds, or end up in hospital unnecessarily because of a lack of health and social care at home or in the community.

“Nurses and the rest of the team working in our NHS are working extremely hard under great pressure, so it is imperative now that effective action is taken by the Scottish Government and health boards – alongside partners in local government and the third sector – to put the NHS and social care on a sustainable footing that meets the needs of the people they serve. Otherwise nurses and their colleagues will become more and more overburdened and patient care will continue to suffer.”

Scottish Conservative health spokesman Jackson Carlaw said:
"It's little wonder the temporary reduction in targets was made permanent last week when Ministers must have known what was set to be revealed this week.

“Certainly we have seen a culture grow where people all too often head for A&E when other options would be more appropriate but that alone cannot explain this extremely disappointing result.

“The SNP has been far too concerned with delivering free prescriptions to those who can readily afford them and far too little concerned with front line nursing and investment in GP primary care.

“Scottish Conservatives have long argued for 1000 additional nurses to be the priority and a GP attached national health visiting services to be re-established along with a substantial investment and refocusing of GP practices.

“There is no justification for the SNP sneering at health services elsewhere in the UK when its own performance is rapidly failing before patients' eyes.”