Page last updated: 27-FEB-2007

Waiting Times

Statistical Publication Notice

27th February 2006

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Waiting Times and Waiting Lists to 31st December 2006 (quarterly and annual data)

Latest quarterly report from ISD Scotland covering waiting times and waiting list numbers for NHS services in Scotland.

  • Update of information covering outpatient appointments, inpatient and day case treatment, angiography and revascularisation, key diagnostic services and A&E.
  • Provisional summary information on activity.

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Waiting times are important to patients and are a measure of how the NHS is responding to demands for services. Measuring and regular reporting of waiting times highlights where there are delays in the system and enables monitoring of the effectiveness of NHS performance throughout the country. The Scottish Executive Health Department (SEHD) is committed to both reducing waiting times for NHS services in Scotland and to improving information on waiting to provide a clearer, more transparent picture of NHS performance. This summary focuses on the latest figures relating to new outpatient and inpatient/day case waiting times.

 

Data Sources - Interpretation

  • There are two sources of waiting times data, monthly censuses of patients waiting at the end of each month and the reported waiting times of patients who have been seen or treated.
  • The Scottish Executive use the monthly censuses of patients waiting at the end of each month to measure performance against national waiting time targets on maximum waiting times. The censuses confirm the extent to which existing waiting times standards are being met on the census day at the end of each month and are the most up to date information available at present. Using censuses it is not possible to identify whether patients waited longer to be seen or treated between census points. This needs to be taken in to account when assessing the census results. From 2008, new ways of defining and measuring waiting times will provide a basis for continuous measurement of waiting times experience.
  • This publication notice also provides statistics on the reported waiting times of all patients who have been seen.  For inpatients and day cases the figures include those who did not have a guarantee to be seen within the existing waiting times standard and so cannot be used to measure performance against existing waiting times standards.  For new outpatients however, such patients are excluded from the analysis, so the figures do give a retrospective measure of performance against waiting time standards.
  • This release includes the reported waiting times of patients who have been seen or treated during the year to 31 December 2006. This, then, is the first release to include retrospective data from a period covered entirely by the 26 week standard.

 

Patients waiting - outpatients

  • The current national waiting time standard is that patients should not wait longer than 26 weeks to attend a consultant led new outpatient clinic after being referred by their doctor or dentist. Information from the latest waiting list census suggests close compliance with this standard as no patient with a guarantee had been waiting more than 26 weeks on 31 December 2006, the same as at 30 September 2006. At 31 December 2005 there had been 2 patients waiting more than 26 weeks.
  • The future target (for the end of 2007) is that patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks. The number of patients with a guarantee waiting over 18 weeks at 31 December 2006 was 14,244, a decrease of over 400 (3%) compared to the position at 30 September 2006, and over 1,300 (9%) down from 31 December 2005.

 

Patients waiting - inpatients and day cases

 

  • The current national waiting time standard is that patients should not wait longer than 26 weeks for admission to hospital for treatment. Information from the latest waiting list census suggests compliance with this standard as no patient with a guarantee had been waiting more than 18 weeks on 31 December 2006. The future target (for the end of 2007) is that patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks. At 30 September 2006, 3,365 patients had been waiting for more than 18 weeks, 29 of whom had been waiting more than 26 weeks. At 31 December 2005 there had been 3,365 patients waiting more than 18 weeks and 2 patients waiting more than 26 weeks.
  • The total number on waiting lists for inpatient and day case treatment on 31 December 2006 was recorded as 92,793 of which 34,715 were exempt from waiting time guarantees because they had an Availability Status Code (ASC). This accounts for more than one third of all patients on the waiting list, and compares with 33,941 of 100,229 at 30th September 2006  and 34,977 of 108,548 at 31 December 2005. The total number of patients on the waiting list on 31 December 2006 was 7,436 lower than on 30 September 2006 and 15,755 lower than on 31 December 2005.

 

Patients seen - outpatients

  • Information about waiting times experienced by patients seen at outpatient departments during the year ending 31 December 2006 indicate continued recent improvement. The 'typical' waiting time of patients with a guarantee, as measured by the median wait, was 49 days for the year ended 31 December 2006 - down from 56 days at 31 December 2005. The 90th percentile wait indicates the maximum time 9 out of every 10 patients waited. For the year ended 31 December 2006 this was 152 days - down from 197 days at 31 December 2005. The proportion of patients seen within 26 weeks increased to 98.8% for the year ended 31 December 2006, continuing the recent trend. This compares to 87.8% for the year ended 31 December 2005.

 

Patients seen - inpatients and day cases

  • The statistics enable a retrospective look at how long patients admitted to hospital in the last year, were recorded as having waited. These statistics include patients who had an ASC who might otherwise have been treated sooner. Subject to this important qualification, information about waiting times experienced by patients admitted during the year ending 31 December 2006 indicate that the current policy of targeting longest waiters is demonstrated by the continued improvement in the percentage of patients treated within 18 and 26 weeks, and the 90th percentile wait, and also in the continued increase in the median wait. The median wait for the year to 31 December 2006 was 48 days, 5 days higher than 31 December 2005. The 90th percentile wait has improved from 188 days at 31 December 2005 to 163 days at 31 December 2006. Similarly, the percentage of patients admitted within 26 weeks was 89.1% for year ending 31 December 2005 and 93.7% for year ending 31 December 2006.
  • As from 2008, new ways of defining and recording waiting times will replace the current system of ASCs with arrangements that take periods of patient unavailability into account when measuring and reporting waiting times and which deal fairly and appropriately with patients who do not attend appointments or who refuse a reasonable offer of an appointment.

Patients waiting - diagnostic tests and investigations

  • The national target is to achieve a maximum waiting time of 9 weeks for eight key diagnostic tests and investigations by the end of 2007. At the end of December 2006 a total of 42,492 patients were waiting for these tests and investigations, of whom 5,075 (12%) were recorded as having been waiting more than 9 weeks. At 30 September, 7,947 (17%) had been waiting for more than 9 weeks.

 

Patients seen - accident and emergency departments

  • Details of performance of core A&E sites from April 2006 to December 2006 are published on the website. The national target is that by the end of 2007, 98% of patients should spend no longer than 4 hours in A&E departments before being admitted, discharged or transferred. The information shows that, during December 2006, 93% of patients attending A&E departments in Scotland were seen within this target time. The figure for September 2006 was 90%.

 

Activity

  • Provisional figures (the data includes some estimates) show that for the quarter ending 31 December 2006:
  • 329,830 new outpatients were seen at consultant clinics. This is little changed from the previous quarter, and is 4% lower than in the equivalent period in 2005.
  • 100,732 routine inpatients were admitted, 2% more than the previous quarter, and 3% more than the quarter ending 31 December 2005.
  • 128,872 non-routine patients were admitted. This is 2% higher than the previous quarter and 5% higher than the quarter ending 31 December 2005.

More detailed information on activity to the year ending 31st March 2006 is published at http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/4150.html

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Main contacts:

Stephen Young
Data Analyst
Tel: 0131 275 6911
Email: stephen.young@isd.csa.scot.nhs.uk


Catriona Haddow
Senior Information Analyst
Tel: 0131 275 6341
Email: catriona.haddow@isd.csa.scot.nhs.uk


Richmond Davies
Outpatient Waiting Times Programme Manager
Tel: 0131 275 6196
Email: richmond.davies@isd.csa.scot.nhs.uk


Andy Carver
Programme Principal Waiting Times
Tel: 0131 275 6134
Email: andy.carver@isd.csa.scot.nhs.uk

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Glossary:
IP - inpatient
DC - day case
OP - outpatient
ASC - availability status code

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Preview Access Given To:
Chief Executives, Scottish Executive

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Publication History:
Last Published: 28/11/2006
Date of first publication: Information on website back to March 1997 for some series
Next Due: 29/5/2007




Main contact: Email Catriona Haddow