target missed for patient waiting times

The number of people waiting more than four months for an outpatient appointment in Tayside has surged by 389 – 200% in four years.

There were 3,893 patients on standby for at least 16 weeks in the health area between September and December last year, compared with just one in the same period in 2012.

The target is for patients to secure a slot at a consultant-led clinic within 12 weeks.

An NHS Tayside director said it is not currently possible to meet waiting time targets for everyone, in part because of clinical staff shortages. In Fife, the waiting list increased by 33% over the four years, according to the Scottish Government figures.

It was one of a series of waiting time targets missed at health boards across Scotland.

Scottish Labour’s Anas Sarwar branded yesterday the SNP’s “day of shame”.

A total of 1,076 in-patients, and those categorised as day cases, were not seen within the 12-week treatment time guarantee in Tayside in the final quarter of 2016, a 49% increase on the previous year. In Fife, the figure was 146, up from 15 in 2015.

Health Secretary Shona Robison said it is “extremely important to us” that those waiting are seen “as quickly as possible”.

She said there is a “clear, long-term strategy of matching increased investment in our NHS with reform”.

Dr Alan Cook, a medical director at NHS Tayside, said they make “every effort” to meet waiting times targets.

“However, this is unfortunately not currently possible for all patients due to a number of factors, including national shortages of some key clinical staff,” he said.

“NHS Tayside continues to invest resources to ensure that as many patients as possible are seen within the waiting time targets.”

Health Secretary Shona Robison said patients being seen by specialists quickly is “extremely important to us”.