The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Patients missing out on 18-week treatment target
Statistics show that NHS Tayside has not achieved 90% threshold since 2014
Thousands of Tayside and Fife patients have not started treatment after referral, within the recommended 18 weeks.
Statistics released by ISD Scotland for June – the latest available – show only 75.7% of patients in Tayside and 83.4% in Fife had a “patient journey” of 18 weeks or less.
The Scottish Government national standard is for 90% of patients to start treatment within the 18-week time frame after referral, set in January 2012.
However, 958 Fife patients and 1,751 in Tayside waited longer than 18 weeks.
NHS Tayside has not achieved the
90% threshold since December 2014, although it has improved from its low of 71.3 %, recorded in March.
The Scottish average was 79.2%, with 19,054 patient journeys taking longer than 18 weeks.
Only NHS Borders, Western Isles and the Golden Jubilee National Hospital achieved the government’s target.
Scottish Conservative North East region MSP Bill Bowman said: “NHS Tayside staff are working hard to get patients seen. Unfortunately we are still nowhere near the SNP government’s legally-binding waiting time target.
“That is a poor reflection on the SNP’s record in charge of Scotland’s NHS, rather than the standard of care in Tayside.”
Scottish Labour’s public health spokesman, David Stewart MSP, said: “The SNP’s waiting time law is not worth the paper it was written on. Staff are not being given the resources and support they need from the SNP government to give patients the care they deserve.”
A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said: “NHS Scotland funding and staffing is at record high levels. We are determined to reduce waiting times, which is why we have invested more than £100 million this year from our £850m Waiting Times Improvement plan.
“This investment will support further increases in staffing, evening and weekend clinics and additional theatre sessions to ensure progress.
“We have been clear with health boards that it is unacceptable for anyone to wait too long for treatment and we are working closely with them, including NHS Tayside, to support further improvements.”