Chamber and committees

Question reference: S5W-08128

Asked by: Ross Thomson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: 15 March 2017
Current status: Answered by Shona Robison on 13 April 2017

Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the waiting time is from the point of referral to an appointment at the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary cataract clinic; what the average time was in each of the last four years, and how many people have been waiting (a) three to six and (b) over six months.

Answer

The specific information requested is not available centrally. Information is provided at speciality level only. The following tables provide information on waiting times for first outpatient consultation at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

NUMBER OF PATIENTS SEEN AND THE MEDIAN WAITING TIME (DAYS) FOR FINANCIAL YEARS 2012-13 - 2015-16

2012-13

2013-14

2014-15

2015-16

Number Seen	Median Wait	Number Seen	Median Wait	Number Seen	Median Wait	Number Seen	Median Wait
7,425	25	8,507	38	8,997	28	9,231	37

TOTAL NUMBER WAITING, NUMBER WAITING OVER 12 WEEKS AND NUMBER WAITING OVER 26 WEEKS FOR FINANCIAL YEARS 2012-13 AND 2013-14

2012-13

2013-14

Number Waiting	Waiting over 12 weeks	Waiting over 26 weeks	Number Waiting	Waiting over 12 weeks	Waiting over 26 weeks
1,264	2	1	989	4	1

TOTAL NUMBER WAITING, NUMBER WAITING OVER 12 WEEKS AND NUMBER WAITING OVER 26 WEEKS

FOR FINANCIAL YEARS 2014/15 AND 2015/16

2014-15

2015-16

Numbers Waiting	Waiting Over 12 Weeks	Waiting over 26 weeks	Number waiting	Waiting Over 12 weeks	Waiting Over 26 weeks
1,261	64	1	1,558	213	3

Source: ISD Waiting Times Warehouse

To support improvement the Scottish Government has provided £1.3 million specifically to NHS Grampian to reduce long waits for a first outpatient consultation between January and March 2017. You will also be aware that on 29 November the Scottish Government announced a plan to deliver a major shift in the way outpatient care is delivered, giving patients faster and more local access to care, has been published The Modern Outpatient: A Collaborative Approach 2017-2020 sets out a new strategy for responding to rising demand and aims to free up 400,000 hospital outpatient appointments by 2020. The strategy proposes that some patients, particularly those who are waiting for a routine check-up or test results, would be seen closer to home by a team of community healthcare professionals with close links to hospital departments. The NHS will also make better use of e-consultations and action will be taken to reduce the number of unnecessary referrals.

See all of Ross Thomson's questions