Almost half physiotherapy patients wait over a month for treatment
Around half of patients needing appointments from allied health professionals for care such as physiotherapy have to wait longer than a month, a new report has found.
ISD Scotland said just 54.8 per cent were seen to within the target four weeks for musculoskeletal issues over the last quarter.
That means roughly 36,000 people waited too long for a visit from a physio, occupational therapist or someone to help with chiropody and podiatry problems.
Official Scottish Govern- ment targets dictate that health boards should see at least 90 per cent of patients requiring an AHP within four weeks.
Shadow health secretary Miles Briggs said: “These are patients who are often in a great deal of pain, and shouldn’t be expected to wait longer than a month for an appointment.
“But yet again, we see an area of the NHS is Scotland which has been utterly neglected by this SNP government.”
Health Secretary Shona Robison said: “These figures show the percentage of patients seen within four weeks has increased since 2015. The majority of patients are currently seen within four weeks and more than two thirds are seen within eight weeks. We will continue to work with all of our partners to reduce waiting times.”