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Scottish A&E waiting times stats due More Scots waiting longer in A&E
(about 7 hours later)
Statistics on the performance of accident and emergency departments in Scotland over the busy winter period are due to be published. New figures suggest Scotland's accident and emergency departments treated 91% of patients within four hours between October and December.
They will show how many people went to casualty between October and December and the length of time they waited. This compares to 94% in the previous quarter and is slightly worse than England's performance, where 92.6% of patients were treated in four hours.
More than 200 operations were cancelled over the festive period as some A&Es struggled to cope. The Scottish figure for October and November was 91.8% but that fell to 89.8% in December.
Interim stats previously showed one in 10 people waited longer than four hours between 22 December and 4 January. NHS Lanarkshire had the worst average figure over the period - at 85.5%.
The number of people waiting four hours or more in A&E in Scotland has been increasing since 2009. The figure for NHS Lanarkshire in November was just 83% of patients to A&E seen, admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours.
However the number of people attending emergency departments has also reached record levels. In December, NHS Forth Valley (84.2%) and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (84.5%) were the worst performers.
People in Lanarkshire are those most likely to face long waits. NHS Tayside was the best health board for waiting times with 99% seen within four hours.
Poor planning There was a slight increase in attendances compared to previous years.
Various reasons have been suggested for the pressure over the festive season. Key Points
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde - which saw some of the worst problems - pointed out that there was no increase in attendances compared to the previous year. The number of attendances at A&E services across Scotland over the past three years were
It said that more people needed to be admitted to a bed, suggesting there may have been a particularly severe bug in the community. During the quarter ending 31 December 2014, the proportion of attendances at A&E services that were seen, admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours were:
On the other hand, a senior doctor said poor planning was to blame. During the quarter, 4,028 patients spent more than eight hours in A&E and 517 spent more than 12 hours.
Similar pressures were faced by hospitals in the rest of the UK, with several hospitals in England declaring major emergencies. The statistics said 27% of attendances at A&E led to an admission to hospital.
Less information Analysis
Scots get less information about the performance of their local emergency department than their counterparts in the rest of the UK, meaning these are the first waiting time figures since September scheduled for publication. From next month the NHS in Scotland will be moving to monthly reporting of A&E waiting times.
In an unusual move, last month the Scottish government published interim figures suggesting that Scotland's main accident and emergency departments saw 89% of patients within four hours between 22 December and 4 January, compared to 83% in NHS England over the same period. Scots have been getting less information about the performance of their local emergency department than their counterparts in the rest of the UK, meaning the new figures are the first waiting time figures since September.
However, in England, hospitals publish A&E performance statistics weekly and by hospital, allowing more scrutiny of the performance of individual hospitals. In England, hospitals publish A&E performance statistics weekly and by hospital, allowing more scrutiny of the performance of individual hospitals.
In Northern Ireland the public is given monthly performance figures by hospital.In Northern Ireland the public is given monthly performance figures by hospital.
Wales publishes monthly statistics by health board rather than hospital.Wales publishes monthly statistics by health board rather than hospital.
In Scotland the public is usually only told how the NHS has performed every three months, and at health board level. In Scotland the public has been only told how the NHS has performed every three months, and at health board level.
Because waiting times are combined over a three-month period, the poor performance of particular hospitals on particular days is sometimes not apparent, and figures relating to the busy New Year period will not be included in Tuesday's release. Because waiting times are combined over a three-month period, the poor performance of particular hospitals on particular days is sometimes not apparent, and figures relating to the busy New Year period are not included in Tuesday's release.