£1million funds for more A&E consultants

The Scottish Government is to invest £1 million over the next year to increase the number of consultants working in A&E.

The investment is part of an emergency care action plan being agreed by the government and doctors to ensure patients are seen quickly in hospitals.

It comes as the health service experiences higher levels of flu, norovirus and respiratory illness this winter, resulting in NHS boards reporting a rise in admissions. Emergency admission rates are also strongly related to patient age and are expected to increase long-term given the ageing population.

The numbers of consultants have increased from 76 (working-time equivalent) in September 2006, to 144 (working-time equivalent) in September 2012. The funding would pay for ten consultants, the government confirmed.