A further £6.8 million is being invested in making improvements to A&E departments across Scotland.
This money is part of the £50 million action plan which will improve the way emergency care is delivered across NHS Scotland.
Figures published today by ISD Scotland show that the number of people attending A&E who were seen and treated within four hours reached 94.6 per cent for June 2013, which has increased from 91.9 per cent in March 2013.
Health Secretary Alex Neil said:
“These latest figures show that we have already seen an improvement in ensuring that people are seen and treated in the right place at the right time by the right person, but we recognise that there is still more to be done.
“There is no doubt that unscheduled care continues to be a priority. As we continue to deal with the requirements of an ageing population, we are seeing an increasing requirement for more effective unscheduled care.
“That is why we continue our actions to improve unscheduled care in Scotland and this latest funding will help to ensure people are seen quickly and treated effectively.
“The key lies in looking at the whole healthcare system and we are already starting to see progress.”
In total, £6.8 million is being released to NHS boards as part of the to be invested in making improvements to unscheduled care services across Scotland.
The money will fund real changes to the way we deliver unscheduled care and will see the appointment of additional staff.
It will support the appointment of additional nursing, allied health professional and medical staff, as well as helping to redesign and improve patient flow and effective discharge of patients.
The Scottish Ambulance Service and NHS 24 are among those boards who will receive funding, with NHS 24 using some of the money to help develop the clinical skills available to callers.
The figures also show that 25 patients waited over 12 hours to be seen and treated, a decrease of 67 patients from in March 2013. In January 2013, 425 waited over 12 hours.
The A&E waiting times can be viewed at www.isdscotland.org
Through the £50 million Unscheduled Care Action Plan the Scottish Government, NHS Boards, Royal Colleges and other partners are taking action to strengthen unscheduled care in Scotland with a priority focus on the flow of patients through the whole system.
The Unscheduled Care Action Plan will:
Change the way that people are seen when they are admitted to hospital to make sure that they are treated as fast as possible;
- Look at how staff work so that people can leave hospital as soon as they are ready;
- Improve links with other areas of healthcare so that support is in place for people to be treated in the community if possible.
Support for the Unscheduled Care Action Plan:
Dr Jason Long Chair of the College of Emergency Medicine Scotland said:
“This is an important initiative that will improve emergency medicine across Scotland, and we welcome the opportunity to collaborate on this initiative.”
Mr Ian Ritchie President Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh said:
“I am sure that every clinician in the health service in Scotland would recognise these strategic themes as being important in the efficient and safe management of patients in the emergency context.
“I am particularly pleased to see the emphasis is not just on the front door but also on what happens to patients once their emergency condition has been deal with, and is moving on to what happens to them in the community.
“The Royal College of Surgeons fully supports this high level approach to considering the needs of patients in the National Health Service in relation to emergency work.”
Dr Neil Dewhurst, President Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, said:
“The College wholeheartedly supports this initiative.”