To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time was for treatment at accident and emergency departments in each year since 1999, also broken down by NHS board.
The national target is that 98% of patients will wait no longer than four hours between arrival at an accident and emergency department and admission, discharge or transfer. NHSScotland have consistently delivered this target since it was introduced at the end of December 2007.
The median waiting time from arrival to leaving an accident and emergency (A&E) department in each year since 1999, by health board, is provided in the following tables.
Prior to 2007, A&E waiting times data was collected through an annual census covering a three or seven day period in April. The census between 1999 to 2005 only covers the core A&E hospitals across Scotland. In 2006, the survey was expanded to cover all A&E departments, including minor injury units. Only information from the core A&E sites has been provided.
NHSScotland: Median Waiting Timesa Spent in A&E - 1999 to 2006
| Median Wait (Minutes) |
1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006b |
Length of Survey (Days) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
NHS Board | | | | | | | | |
Argyll and Clyde | 64 | 68 | 77 | 80 | 84 | 101 | 84 | x |
Ayrshire and Arran | 88 | 82 | 86 | 100 | 78 | 108 | 106 | x |
Borders | 60 | 78 | 101 | 122 | 120 | 81 | 130 | x |
Dumfries and Galloway | 41 | 59 | 62 | 67 | 53 | 87 | 102 | x |
Fife | 65 | 81 | 60 | 89 | 95 | 123 | 103 | x |
Forth Valley | 65 | 75 | 90 | 119 | 75 | 90 | 97 | x |
Grampian | 72 | 57 | 91 | 93 | 96 | 94 | 93 | x |
Greater Glasgow | 72 | 80 | 90 | 96 | 95 | 106 | 99 | x |
Highland | 47 | 47 | 83 | 90 | 63 | 127 | 84 | x |
Lanarkshire | 66 | 82 | 99 | 98 | 84 | 111 | 142 | x |
Lothian | 89 | 96 | 111 | 93 | 110 | 111 | 108 | x |
Orkney | 30 | 30 | 25 | 31 | 30 | 35 | 25 | x |
Shetland | 50 | 35 | 50 | 50 | 53 | 35 | 60 | x |
Tayside | 69 | 60 | 68 | 75 | 75 | 100 | 100 | x |
Western Isles | 45 | 40 | 55 | 40 | 60 | 50 | 60 | x |
NHSScotland | 70 | 76 | 87 | 92 | 89 | 105 | 104 | 105 |
Source: ISD Scotland.
Notes:
A. The final time in surveys prior to 2005 was defined as time left A&E department and from 2005 onwards as time of discharge, admission or transfer. This change means that data between surveys is not directly comparable. Caution should be exercised in interpreting this trend because of inconsistencies in definition in the information captured by these surveys.
B. The data from the 2006 survey is not readily available at NHS board level.
Since 2007, detailed daily data has been collected at all large hospitals containing an A&E department (core sites). Smaller hospitals and minor injury units do not generally collect data at this level and are therefore not included in the following table.
NHSScotland: Median Waiting Timesa Spent in A&E - Financial Years 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10 to Date
NHS Board | Median Wait (Minutes) |
2007-08b | 2008-09 | 2009-10c |
Ayrshire and Arran | 84 | 95 | 97 |
Borders | 83 | 91 | 93 |
Dumfries and Galloway | 78 | 76 | 86 |
Fife | 87 | 93 | 98 |
Forth Valley | 85 | 88 | 92 |
Grampian | 94 | 105 | 108 |
Greater Glasgow and Clyde | 99 | 99 | 104 |
Highland | 86 | 88 | 82 |
Lanarkshire | 101 | 102 | 106 |
Lothian | 116 | 119 | 129 |
Orkneyd | x | x | x |
Shetland | 75 | 78 | 69 |
Tayside | 86 | 88 | 89 |
Western Isles | 78 | 75 | 74 |
NHSScotland | 96 | 99 | 104 |
Source: ISD Scotland.
Notes:
A. The waiting time is defined as the time of arrival until the time of discharge, admission or transfer.
B. Detailed waiting time data only provided from 1 July 2007.
C. Latest data available - 1 April to 30 June 2009.
D. No core site in Orkney.
Due to the different methods of data collection, caution should be taken when comparing the two tables.