Scottish Daily Mail

1 in 3 patients forced to wait too long BEFORE lockdown

- By Kate Foster Scottish Health Editor

ALMOST a third of patients waited longer than three months for routine hospital treatment before Scotland went into lockdown.

New figures reveal that 20,444 patients (31.3 per cent) waited longer than the 12-week limit for inpatient or day case procedures between January and March. Hospitals were placed in emergency measures on March 17, when all non-urgent treatment was suspended.

Last night, Scottish Labour health and social care spokesman Monica Lennon called on ministers to publish a post-lockdown recovery plan to ensure those overdue medical attention are treated quickly. She said: ‘The

Scottish Government must give urgent attention to the patients who have missed out on operations and treatment due to the combinatio­n of long waiting times and the effects of the pandemic.

‘There’s no getting away from the fact that many of them were left languishin­g on waiting lists before the pandemic hit.’

The latest figures show barely any improvemen­t from the same period last year, when 31.4 per cent of patients waited over the guaranteed deadline. The 12-month treatment time guarantee is supposed to be enshrined in law but has proved ineffectiv­e.

The figures also reveal 7 per cent fewer patients were admitted as inpatients or day cases compared with the previous quarter.

There was also a large reduction in hospital admissions throughout March, with 16,561 patients admitted compared with 26,033 last year.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: ‘Covid-19 has impacted elective waiting times. We are working hard to ensure critical capacity remains for the majority of vital and urgent care and are currently considerin­g how NHS boards will begin to restart services, including screening.’

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