Mental health waiting times targets failing

Less patients seen within four weeks

A rising demand for mental health services means less patients in Renfrewshire are being seen by medical staff within a four-week target.

Over the last year, the number of people being referred to first appointments within four weeks - which is the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde timescale - has dropped from 95 per cent to 79 per cent.

Renfrewshire’s Health and Social Care Partnership ( HSCP) has put the decrease down to a 12 per cent increase in service demand in 2017.

It also pointed to an increase in short-term absences among staff and the adverse weather during the Beast from the East storms in February as reasons behind the figures.

However, targets for referrals to first appointments within nine weeks have increased from 96 per cent last year to 98 per cent.

Meanwhile, the HSCP has also identified other areas for improvement, including alcohol and drugs waiting times.

Figures show the number of people being seen within three weeks has decreased from 96.2 per cent in March 2017 to 78.1 per cent in 2018.

The number of alcohol brief interventions (ABIs) being carried out has dropped from 779 at the end of the fourth quarter in 2016/17 to 549 in the same period in 2017/18.

ABIs are short structured conversations about alcohol consumption with patients, which look to support people to change their drinking behaviour.

The HSCP has noted positive performance in areas such as breastfeeding, alcohol related hospital admissions and 30-month assessment uptake.

Most recent figures from September 2017 show the number of babies exclusively breast fed at their six to eight week review remains above the target of 21.7 percent.

The number of alcohol related hospital stays for 2017 was 8.3 per 1,000 people over the age of 16 - compared against a target of 8.9.

A report from the HSCP described this as “the lowest rate achieved” since it started to record these figures in January 2009.

The number of people making the most of 30-month child assessments increased from 82 per cent in March 2017 to 89 per cent this year - further improving on its target of 80 per cent.

Within this group 83 per cent of infants had achieved their developmental milestones - an increase of four per cent on the 2017 figure.