Examining the numbers behind Scotland’s A&E waiting time performance

Statistics this week revealed how boards across the country are performing against national targets

Statistics this week show Scotland’s accident and emergency departments hitting targets for the first time in almost a year, but which areas are performing best?

Perhaps unsurprisingly, NHS Orkney recorded a perfect 100 per cent score in meeting the four hour target for a patient to be either admitted, transferred or discharged.

The next best performance came from NHS Western Isles 99.2 per cent.

At the other end of the scale, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde was the worst performer with a score of 92.3 per cent, followed by NHS Lanarkshire on 94.7 per cent.

NHS Lothian which includes Scotland’s busiest A&E at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh hit the target with 96.6 per cent seen on time.

Nationally, 95.3 per cent of patients were seen within the time limit, the first time the Scottish Government’s interim waiting-times target (of 95 per cent) has been met since the week ending 31 July last year.

The latest figure was up from 94.2 per cent the previous week and 94.7 per cent at the same time last year.

Health Secretary Shona Robison welcomed the figures and praised nursing and social care staff for their efforts.

“We have seen a steady reduction in average waits over the last few weeks and it is encouraging that these weekly statistics show performance above the four-hour standard,” she said.

“However, we know that performance fluctuates from week to week and the challenge now is to ensure that we maintain this target on a consistent basis.

“We will continue to work closely with boards to implement the six essential actions for unscheduled care, which are helping to minimise long waits and improve patient flow through hospitals and into community care.

“I recently announced an additional £9 million to fund this work and I am confident that will lead to sustained improvements.”

According to NHS statistics, A&E departments dealt with 25,832 cases in the week ending 11 June.

Only 40 patients (or 0.2 per cent) had to spend more than eight hours in the emergency department while less than 0.1 per cent (or just six patients) waited 12 hours or more.

0 NHS Lothian hit its targets