New A&E action plan launched

A new action plan to deal with delays at accident and emergency departments has been revealed by the Scottish Government.

Health Secretary Shona Robison said £9m was being allocated from the Unscheduled Care Fund to assist regional health boards, with national improvement officers appointed to liaise with local teams.

Under the new plan hospital capacity and patient flow will be “realigned”, with patients moving more easily from A&E through the acute care system.

Results of the country’s biggest A&E departments are now published weekly, and yesterday’s report showed 93.5 per cent of patients are being treated and then either discharged or admitted within four hours. The target, however, is 95 per cent, which hasn’t been met for several years.

Since 2008, there has been a 70,000 increase in people seeking emergency care.

This winter thousands of people waited over eight hours to be treated and discharged, and the situation has improved as we move to summer. 

“Last winter was challenging for our health boards, despite the planning that went in to preparing for what is always a period of significant pressure," conceded Robison.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: "Weekly performance is likely to fluctuate and it is now crucial that, with on-going support from the Scottish Government, health boards sustain the improvement seen since the winter and move towards the world leading targets we have in place."

The Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland have called for more recognition of the role third sector organisations can play in preventing admissions to A&E.  

ALLIANCE Chief Executive, Ian Welsh said: “Third sector organisations across the country are already supporting people to anticipate and avoid some of these challenges but with further investment they have the potential to go even further.  It is vital that we involve people, the third sector and others in finding and implementing the right support and services that can improve people’s experiences and ​tackle the underlying issues that result in longer A&E waiting times.”