Acute hospitals provide a wide range of specialist care and treatment for patients.  Typically, services offered in the NHS Acute sector are diverse.  They include: consultation with specialist clinicians (consultants, nurses, dieticians, physiotherapists and a wide range of other professionals); emergency treatment following accidents; routine, complex and life saving surgery; specialist diagnostic procedures; and close observation and short-term care of patients with worrying health symptoms.

This section of our website brings together information on different aspects of acute hospital care, sourced from hospital administrative systems across Scotland. Note that 'Acute' hospital care excludes obstetric, psychiatric and long stay care services that are covered elsewhere on our website.

Please note that there are apparent anomalies between figures published from Acute Hospital Care, New Ways and Costs data sources.

The figures for elective admissions and new outpatients in the Acute Hospital Care publication are considerably higher than the equivalent information published on the New Ways Waiting Times web pages. This is largely due to the use of different definitions between the two sets of figures. For example, Acute Hospital Care information includes non-waiting list cases and non GP/GDP referrals, which do not form part of the published Scotland figures in 'New Ways'.

Figures for inpatient and day case activity in the Acute Hospital Care publication differ slightly when compared to the equivalent information released in the Costs web pages. This is largely due to the use of different definitions for the two sets of figures. For example, the Costs 'acute' activity excludes the specialty of Geriatric Medicine and patients treated in Neonatal and Younger Physically Disabled Units, which differs from the 'acute' activity that is published in the Acute Hospital Care pages. The Costs publication also excludes consultant-only transfers from the inpatient figures.

ISD Scotland are carrying out further detailed investigations into these differences.

The acute hospital care web pages are divided into two topic areas: Acute Activity and Beds, accessible through the left-hand menu.

Acute Hospital Care information release on 26th May 2009:

Acute activity: 

• Annual inpatient and daycase activity by specialty to 31 March 2008
• Annual outpatient activity by specialty to 31 March 2008
• Multiple and all emergency admissions to 31 March 2008
• Average length of stay for all admissions to 31 March 2008
• Quarterly information on inpatient and outpatient activity, quarters ending June 2007 to March 2009.

Beds: 

• Updated information on available beds to 31st March 2009