Casualty waiting times miss target

Published on Tuesday 31 March 2009 09:44

WAITING time targets in Lothian A&E departments have been missed for the second time in three months after staff were forced to cope with nearly 1000 more patients than expected.

Latest figures show that between the departments at the ERI and St John's, 97.8 per cent of people were seen within four hours of attending, slightly below the national standard.

However, given that Little France houses the country's largest casualty department, health bosses should still be happy that only a tiny minority were not seen within the time limit.

Board members were told that the 17,371 people who came to A&E in February was five per cent more than the same month last year.

In December, the rate fell to 96 per cent and that was put down to hundreds more people coming through because of icy weather.

Other board members questioned whether or not the majority of those attending in fact truly needed casualty care.

One source at the ERI said the Six Nations rugby matches could also have swollen the numbers. Around 40,000 Welsh and Irish fans visited Edinburgh during February, as well as the many Scots who travel to the Capital for the games.

Mike Grieve, director of delivery, NHS Lothian, said: "There is no single reason for the rise in the number of patients attending Accident and Emergency departments in NHS Lothian.

"The increase in February is part of a national trend and will be related to many things, including a growing population and the bad weather at the beginning of the year.

"Staff worked very hard to minimise the wait for the 17,371 patients, but unfortunately 35 patients were not seen within four hours. However current figures for the month of March show staff have actually exceeded national targets, meaning that so far 98.1 per cent patients have been seen within four hours."

The latest figures also show NHS Lothian missed the waiting times target, set stringently by the Scottish Government, on breast cancer. A total of 94.6 per cent of patients were treated within 31 days of diagnosis, below the Holyrood ideal of 98 per cent. In all other areas – such as inpatient and day cases, outpatients, diagnostics, hip fracture and urgent cancer referrals – NHS Lothian hit the 100 per cent mark on waiting times.