More than 250,000 people wait longer than treatment target

More than 250,000 people have waited longer than the Scottish Government’s legally binding 12-week target for hospital treatment, figures have shown.

Official NHS data shows that since the introduction of the treatment time guarantee (TTG) in October 2012, a total of 252,613 patients have had to wait longer than this for inpatient or day case treatment.

The figures were released at the same time as separate data showed NHS Scotland’s performance against the 18-week referral to treatment target (RTT) fell again.

The target, set by the Scottish Government, states 90% of patients should have had their treatment commence within 18 weeks of being referred.

In September, this standard was only achieved for 76.9% of patients, with performance declining from 77.9% in August and 79.2% in July.

The waiting times report noted: “Since the introduction of the 90% RTT standard, NHS Scotland performance has decreased from 92.4% in June 2012 to 76.9% in September 2019.”

Just four out of the 15 NHS boards met the 90% target in September – NHS Borders, the Golden Jubilee National Hospital, NHS Orkney and NHS Western Isles.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: “Over and above our £102 million investment for waiting times, we will also invest a further £6.4m this year to deliver improvements for patients across Scotland.

“This is part of the £850 million Waiting Times Improvement Plan I launched last year and will ensure no one is waiting too long for treatment. We have also given health boards £10m to support services this winter.”