This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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New figures show drop in waiting times
26/05/2005
Figures released today show there has been considerable reductions to long waiting times for hospital treatment.
Latest quarterly figures released today by the Information and Statistics Division (ISD) show that on March 31 2005.
- 1600 patients with a guarantee waiting over six months for inpatient/day case treatment. This is the lowest figure ever recorded. It represents a fall of 4,376 (73 per cent) over the previous quarter.
- 22,466 patients with a guarantee were waiting more than six months for outpatient treatment - a reduction of 50% on the previous quarter (45,056).
- For heart disease, for the second successive quarter, no patient with a guarantee waited more than eight weeks for angiography or 18 weeks for angioplasty or surgical graft.
Under the Partnership Agreement, by the end of this year no-one will have wait more than six months for either inpatient/daycase or outpatient treatment.
Health Minister Andy Kerr said:
"There is strong evidence now of real progress which is making a real difference for the people of Scotland.
"As the Chief Medical Officer has said, there are signs we are now shedding our sick man of Europe tag.
"Legislation now before Parliament to lift the smoke blanket from our pubs, clubs and workplaces, will give that a huge boost.
"We are also seeing very good progress in improving diet and uptake of physical activity and a range of other actions.
"It is the same with our NHS. Today's figures are a tremendous tribute to the hard work of nurses, doctors and other health care staff across the country. I thank them for that.
"And thanks to them there are 26,000 fewer patients waiting more than six months as inpatients/day cases or outpatients in March compared to last December.
"But this isn't about dry statistics - it is about making a real impact - cutting the concerns and stress for people who previously faced long waits before treatment.
"That's true at the Golden Jubilee National Hospital where 300 people every week are now getting life-saving heart operations or getting their quality of life back through, for example, hip or knee joint replacements .
"There is a strong momentum now for modernising and redesigning services to even better serve the needs of patients. Professor Kerr's report gives a framework for taking this forward.
"But there is no way we are going to stop here. We will continue to expand capacity within the NHS and make significantly more use of private sector capacity to treat NHS patients.
"That is happening now. NHS Tayside is today considering proposals for a £15 million project over three years involving the private sector in a new Treatment and Diagnostic Centre at Stracathro Hospital.
"It will work in partnership with the existing NHS Treatment and Diagnostic facilities at the hospital and provide additional capacity for patients in Tayside, Grampian and Fife.
"This will help further in delivering our goal to make unacceptably long waits for treatment a thing of the past - along with shedding the tag of sick man of Europe."
The ISD statistics can be found on its website: www.isdscotland.org
Plans to increase capacity and new targets for reducing waits were announced by the Minister last December in Fair to All Personal to Each: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/health/ftap-00.asp