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New waiting time target for hospital tests
20/11/2008
Patients waiting for key diagnostic tests, including MRI and CT scans, will have even shorter waiting times from next year under a pledge to reduce the current nine-weeks maximum waiting time to six weeks by the end of March 2009.
Over the two years from July 2006 to July 2008, the number of patients waiting more than nine weeks for key tests fell from 10,638 to just two. NHS Boards achieved this by improving provision of services supported by £50 million additional investment from the Scottish Government.
An Audit Scotland report - Review of Diagnostic Services in Scotland - published today, highlights that waiting times for eight key diagnostic tests have reduced and the quality of care for endoscopy patients is improving.
The report also identifies variations in the efficient use of resources across NHS Boards and variation in the provision of some services such as how quickly hospitals report test results and the choices offered to patients on booking their appointments. Audit Scotland calls for better data collection to drive sustainable improvements in order to deliver efficient services for patients, and NHSScotland is working to address this.
Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said:
"This government is committed to ensuring patients get the best possible treatment and care in Scottish hospitals.
"Waiting for a diagnosis can be an anxious time which is why it is crucial that waiting times for diagnostic tests are as short as possible.
"Today's report confirms that waiting times are coming down and the work taken to achieve this. This is considerable progress and across the service the efforts taken are continuing.
"Reducing the waiting time to six weeks will mean improved care for patients and I am determined that NHSScotland does not lose sight of this.
"Work is also underway to improve data collection, and to drive improvements through benchmarking radiology services and other improvement techniques, to enable us to further improve the planning and efficiency of diagnostic services."
The eight tests subject to the national maximum waiting times standard - and which were audited for this report - are:
- MRI
- CT
- non-obstetric ultrasound
- barium enema
- upper GI endoscopy
- colonoscopy
- sigmoidoscopy
- cystoscopy