ONE FULL YEAR since NHS Lothian met A & E waiting times

Briggs blames SNP for ‘workforce crisis’

According to ISD figures the last time that the A&E waiting time target of 95% of patients to be seen within four hours, was met in NHS Lothian was 29th October 2017. Continue reading ONE FULL YEAR since NHS Lothian met A & E waiting times

NHS Lothian has longest A&E waiting times

“Jeane Freeman should acknowledge the link between our GP crisis and the increased pressure on A&E services.” – Miles Briggs MSP

Following the recent announcement that A&E waiting targets have not been met for a year, there has been growing pressure on SNP Ministers to take action.  Continue reading NHS Lothian has longest A&E waiting times

Tories demand action on Lothian orthopaedic ‘crisis’

Health Minister in ‘cloud-cuckoo land’

Last week at First Minister’s Questions (FMQs) Miles Briggs challenged the First Minister to apologise to Lothian patients who are facing waits of up to 45 weeks for initial orthopaedic appointments.   Continue reading Tories demand action on Lothian orthopaedic ‘crisis’

NHS Lothian A&E waiting times worst in Scotland over February

Latest figures have revealed that NHS Lothian is the worst performing Health Board in Scotland for A & E waiting times. Tory health spokesman Miles Briggs MSP says it’s another example of SNP Ministers failing people in Lothian. Continue reading NHS Lothian A&E waiting times worst in Scotland over February

Full to bursting: Health services struggle to cope with 20% rise in numbers over Christmas

Accident &Emergency attendances in the week leading up to Christmas Day rose by almost 20 per cent compared to the same period last year. Across Scotland, 26,569 people visited A&E in the week ending 24th December, up almost 20% or over 4,000 attendances on the same week last year. NHS 24 also reported their busiest period in the service’s fifteen year history. Continue reading Full to bursting: Health services struggle to cope with 20% rise in numbers over Christmas

NHS Lothian moves to treat waiting time issues

NHS Lothian is creating an innovative partnership with Scottish Government to help boost performance and improve patient care across the health board. The partnership, which will also work with the Edinburgh Integrated Board, is creating a Whole System Dynamic Review and Targeted Analysis at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh to help tackle delayed discharge and waiting times.

The move comes as health boards across Scotland begin to suffer extreme winter pressures. Earlier this week NHS Lothian recorded the worst performance for A&E waiting time targets since the publication of weekly figures began almost three years ago.

The collapse in its figures follows last month’s admission by NHS Lothian that acute hospitals had been under-reporting waiting times. The latest weekly figures show  just 77.3% of patients were dealt with within the four-hour target.

In an attempt to address this the new partnership, which will also work with the Edinburgh Integrated Board, is creating a Whole System Dynamic Review and Targeted Analysis, at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, to help tackle delayed discharge and waiting times.

Jim Crombie, Deputy Chief Executive, NHS Lothian, said: “Like a number of other health boards, NHS Lothian is experiencing significant winter pressures across our whole healthcare system. There are a number of contributing factors, including the increasing complexity of cases presenting at emergency departments and significant numbers of delayed discharges.

“This new way of working will allow us to zoom in on processes and procedures, not just in the Emergency Department, but across the acute care system to help improve patient flow through our hospitals.”

The group will provide enhanced support and resources to analyse systems across the board in a bid to improve the patient journey through the hospital.

A set of Whole System Indicators will be created to help boost and measure performance and attainment.

Mr Crombie also reminded patients of the need to ensure they seek the right care, in the right place, at the right time for them. He added: “It could be that self care at home or a consultation with a pharmacist or GP is best when you are feeling under the weather or for many common illnesses.

“As the winter chills bite, so do the numbers of slips, trips and falls. But it is important to remember that these kind of injuries can be treated at the Minor Injuries Unit at the Western General Hospital, rather than a lifesaving emergency department.”

 

£4.5 million boost to tackle pressure on city’s health and social care

A £4.5m fund to help reduce both waiting times for assessments and delayed discharges in the capital has been approved by the Edinburgh Integration Joint Board (EIJB). The one-off allocation will support the work of the newly established assessment and review board to help alleviate the most urgent pressures and will also improve business processes.

Continue reading £4.5 million boost to tackle pressure on city’s health and social care

Dodgy data 2: NHS Lothian to ‘re-model’

Reporting practices surrounding emergency department waiting times are to be ‘re-modelled’ across NHS Lothian following an internal review. An investigation, launched following a whistleblower’s revelations about the under-reporting of waiting times at St John’s in Livingston, has found that ALL emergency care hospitals across the region have misrepresented waiting times. Continue reading Dodgy data 2: NHS Lothian to ‘re-model’