Better figures on A&E wait periods

Waiting times at Scottish A&E departments are the best they have been for six months, official weekly figures showed.

Of the 27,915 people seen in emergency departments in the week ending May 20, 92.9% were dealt with in four hours.

But six out of Scotland’s 14 regional health boards did not reach the target that 95% patients should be admitted, transferred or discharged within this time.

In Tayside, the figure was 95.8%, compared with 95.4% in Fife.

The data was published as part of a tranche of waiting time figures, which showed thousands in Courier Country suffering delays to treatment.

Roseanna Cunningham, a Perthshire MSP for the SNP, said Scotland’s A&E departments have shown the best performance of anywhere in the UK since 2015.

The Cabinet secretary welcomed a £50 million pot to improve waiting times for treatment and diagnostics.

Tayside is to get an initial £2 min the first round of that funding.

Ms Cunningham said: “Scotland already invests more per head of population than anywhere else in the UK.

“Tory-led England and Labour-led Wales continue to lag behind Scotland, including on A&E waiting times where Scotland has had the lowest waiting times for over three years.”

Murdo Fraser, the Perthshire-based Tory MSP, said it is “shocking” that more than a quarter (26.4%) of Tayside patients were not seen with the 12-week treatment time guarantee.

He said: “Clinical staff at NHS Tayside are stretched to breaking point.

“The Scottish Government must do more to ensure that patients in the area are seen within their own legal timeframe.”

Roseanna Cunningham.