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Progress on NHS waiting times
28/12/2007
The commitment and hard work of NHS staff across Scotland was highlighted today by Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing Nicola Sturgeon.
Visiting the busy Accident and Emergency Department at the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow, Ms Sturgeon took the opportunity to pay tribute to the dedication of all staff working in the NHS.
There are now almost 160,000 NHS employees in Scotland, and 2007 saw great progress made in reducing waiting times, especially for cancer treatments, and in the abolition of hidden waiting times.
The latest activity statistics show that NHS staff have (during financial year 2006-07):
- seen 4.5 million outpatients attendances
- seen over 1.4 million new A&E attendances
- seen over 1 million attendances at nurse-led clinics
- issued 79.5 million prescriptions
- carried out 845,000 inpatient and day case principal operations
- carried out nearly 7,200 hip replacements (up 8 per cent year on year)
- carried out 6,400 knee replacements (up 12 per cent year on year)
- carried out over 30,000 cataract operations (inpatient, day case and outpatient, up 4 per cent year on year)
- carried out 5,600 angioplasty heart operations
Paying tribute to the work done over the last year, Ms Sturgeon said:
"Since becoming Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing in May, I have been impressed time and again by the commitment and hard work undertaken by staff right across NHSScotland.
"2007 has been a year of many achievements. In particular, excellent progress has been made in reducing waiting times - particularly in cancer waiting times - and in the abolition of hidden waiting times.
"From January, hidden waiting lists will be gone for good and national waiting time targets will apply to all patients, meaning faster treatments for thousands of patients.
"2008 will mark the 60th anniversary of the NHS - the year this Scottish Government will continue to deliver on its pledge to make our NHS more transparent, consistent and fair, and through our Better Health Better Care strategy, help provide a NHS Scotland can be proud of."