Extreme waiting times for A&E are becoming ‘the new normal’ – Aberdeen Evening Express
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“Extreme waiting” times in Scotland’s NHS have been branded the “new normal” after accident and emergency departments posted the third worst results on record.
“Extreme waiting” times in Scotland’s NHS have been branded the “new normal” after accident and emergency departments posted the third worst results on record.
The most recent data showed that in the week ending September 19, fewer than three quarters (74.4%) of patients were dealt with in this time – an increase from the record low of 71.5 that was recorded the previous week.
But this was still the third worst performance since weekly monitoring began, and well below the Scottish Government’s target of having 95% of patients in A&E dealt with within four hours.
Public Health Scotland data showed that of the 26,872 people who attended A&E in the week ending September 19, 1,413 were there for more than eight hours.
This included 341 patients who spent more than 12 hours there.
Tory health spokesman, Dr Sandesh Gulhane, responded: “Our A&E departments are still overwhelmed, and Scotland’s NHS would be much better served if (Health Secretary) Humza Yousaf focused on fixing the problems on the front line, instead of making sure he gets a photo op.”
With coronavirus continuing to put pressure on the NHS, the Scottish Government has already called in the help of both the army and firefighters to drive ambulances.
But with patients reported to have died while waiting for help to arrive, Mr Cole-Hamilton demanded an independent inquiry into “all unnecessary deaths connected to ambulance waiting times”.
The Scottish Liberal Democrat leader said: “Extreme waiting times in A&E seem to be the new normal in the eyes of the SNP Government.
Scotland has ‘lowest number of hospital beds in a decade’ – STV News
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Scotland has fewer hospital beds than at any time in the last decade, new figures show.
There were 12,869 staffed beds available on average each day last year, a 9.5% decrease from the 14,227 per day in 2011-12 when the current records began.
Bed numbers free and staffed for acute patients have also fallen by 2.5% in the last year, although the numbers that were actually occupied dropped from 85.8% in 2019-20 to 74.7% in 2020-21.
The figures for available beds in acute settings include emergency treatment; routine, complex and life-saving surgery as well as specialist diagnostic procedures.
Beds used for giving birth, psychiatric services and long-stay care are not included in the Public Health Scotland figures.
The latest NHS Scotland figures for admissions and discharges also show there were almost 900,000 patients admitted to hospital in 2020-21 — 30% fewer than the previous year.
This was in addition to approximately 673,000 Scottish residents who visited an outpatient department in the last financial year, taking the total number of attendances to approximately three million, 28% fewer than 2019-20.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman suggested the decrease in acute beds was lower than the 6.5% recorded in England and explained that health boards “regularly adjust the number of staffed beds to reflect actual and projected demand”.
Ambulance staff shortages lead to patients waiting up to 16 hours – The Times
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