Treatment time guarantee broken more than 250,000 times

Official NHS data shows that since the introduction of the treatment time guarantee (TTG) in October 2012, a total of 252,613 patients have had to wait longer than this for inpatient or day case treatment.

The figures were released at the same time as separate data showed NHS Scotland's performance against the 18-week referral to treatment target (RTT) fell again.

The target, set by the Scottish Government, states 90% of patients should have had their treatment commence within 18 weeks of being referred.

In September, this standard was only achieved for 76.9% of patients, with performance declining from 77.9% in August and 79.2% in July.

The waiting times report noted: Since the introduction of the 90% RTT standard, NHS Scotland performance has decreased from 92.4% in June 2012 to 76.9% in September 2019.''

Just four out of the 15 NHS boards met the 90% target in September - NHS Borders, the Golden Jubilee National Hospital, NHS Orkney and NHS Western Isles.

While more than a quarter of a million patients have waited more than 12 weeks for inpatient or day care, the statistics showed since the TTG was introduced in October 2012, a total of 1,868,996 have been treated within the target time.

Scotland's largest health board, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, had the largest number of patients who waited more than 12 weeks, with 48,221 people there not treated in time, compared to 43,350 in NHS Lothian and 35,518 in the NHS Grampian region.

In the three months to the end of September this year, the TTG was achieved for just over seven out of 10 patients (71.3%) who were requiring inpatient or day case treatment in hospital - with 20,012 people having waited longer than this over the three months.

Performance was down from the 72.6% achieved in the previous quarter and less than the 73.9% recorded for the same period in 2018.

Six NHS boards recorded a performance below the Scottish average of 71.3% - with the TTG met for 57.4% of those requiring inpatient or day case treatment in the NHS Highland area.

Meanwhile, at the end of September there were 85,997 patients who had waited more than 12 weeks for an outpatient appointment, including 56,651 who had waited more than 16 weeks.

Further figures showed at the end of September there were 15,509 people who had waited more than the six-week target for key diagnostic tests.

Marion O'Neill, head of external affairs for Cancer Research UK in Scotland, said: When you're worried about your health, waiting for tests is an anxious time.

This report tells us that a large number of people, including those with suspected cancer, are waiting longer than the target time for tests.

NHS staff shortages in Scotland contribute to these lengthy delays and the problem is set to get worse because the number of people with cancer is increasing.''

She added: If we're to diagnose more cancers at an early stage and improve survival, a cancer workforce plan is urgently needed.

This will ensure enough specialist staff can be trained and hired to plug current vacancies and prepare for the future.'

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: Over and above our £102 million investment for waiting times, we will also invest a further #6.4 million this year to deliver improvements for patients across Scotland.

This is part of the £850 million Waiting Times Improvement Plan I launched last year and will ensure no-one is waiting too long for treatment.

We have also given health boards £10 million to support services this winter.

Our immediate focus is to reduce waits for patients whose treatment is urgent, who have a suspicion of cancer and those who have waited longest for an appointment.'