The alarming extent of the health crisis facing Tayside, Fife and the rest of Scotland has been exposed in a landmark project from DC Thomson’s data team.
Our interactive NHS waiting times charts show clearly how patients in Scotland are forced to wait well beyond national targets for vital care.
The pandemic is having a major impact on A&E waiting times.
Targets are being missed badly for mental health patients in Fife.
More than half of the patients waiting for an MRI scan in Tayside are being forced to wait more than the six-week target.
The picture is harrowing for people seeking drug and alcohol treatment in Dundee.
Dundee has for many years ranked among the worst areas for drug deaths but our tracker illustrates how residents are being put at risk by excessive delays.
The number of people waiting longer than the three week standard for alcohol and drug treatment in Dundee is now well beyond those in neighbouring areas.
At the turn of the year, 75% of people were waiting longer than the target, with that number only reducing to 59% in the latest figures recorded earlier in 2022.
A&E waiting times in Scotland getting worse
NHS services are struggling to keep up with a surge in attendance following the Covid-19 pandemic.
A&E waiting times have historically been a source of pride for NHS Tayside.
The current national standard is for 95% of patients to wait no longer than four hours from arrival to admission, discharge or transfer for treatment.
NHS Tayside dropped below that standard for the first time since 2017 in May last year and has been slipping since January, currently sitting at 92%.
The picture is even worse for NHS Fife.
Since falling behind in October 2020, the situation has deteriorated.
After a small upturn at the start of this year, it has now dropped back down to 77.5%.
The national situation is worse still.
The 95% target was last met in July 2020 and now sits at 73%.
The percentage of A&E patients waiting more than eight hours from arrival also reached previously unseen levels.
The national figure peaked in March 2022 at 8.8% and currently sits at 7.4%.
The percentage waiting more than 12 hours was more than 3% in March and April.
The percentage for longer than eight hour waits in Tayside sat between 0.2% and 0.5% since February.
It reached 4.8% for NHS Fife in April – the second highest since 2008.
Half of children waiting longer than target for mental health services in Fife
The NHS aims to see 90% of patients seeking help through children and adolescent mental health services within 18 weeks from referral.
In NHS Fife, half the number of patients were waiting more than 18 weeks in February last year.
Figures have improved since but more than a third of patients were still not being seen within the target when the most recent figures were recorded in January 2022.
Long waiting times for MRI and colonoscopy
The waits for psychological therapies follow a similar trend.
NHS Fife were sitting at 81.06% against a 90% target in January, while NHS Tayside was at 96.12%.
According to official figures, a staggering 65.7% of patients waiting for an MRI scan in Tayside are being forced to wait more than the six week target.
This figure is just 9% for Fife.
Around half of Tayside and Fife colonoscopy patients were waiting longer than six weeks.
NHS waiting times a ‘catastrophe’ in Scotland’s health service
The strain on the NHS led to claims lives will be lost.
You can use our new waiting times trackers to see for yourself the full strain on hospitals, GP surgeries and treatment centres.
Scottish Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said: “A catastrophe is unfolding in our NHS but the SNP are in complete denial.
“These shocking figures show the dangerous toll this crisis is having on people in Tayside and Fife.
“Patients aren’t getting the standard of service they need, and staff are being forced to work to the brink of exhaustion to keep things going.”
She added: “This chaos will continue to cost lives until we act – the SNP must stop ignoring these problems and get serious about tackling them.”
North East MSP Maurice Golden highlighted the “shocking” pressure on addiction services.
“We have a moral duty to act to stem the tragic and needless loss of lives, yet the Scottish Government wants to hide away from the appalling fact that Dundee is the drugs death capital of Europe,” he said.
How did Humza Yousaf respond?
Scottish health secretary Humza Yousaf said the NHS has gone through a huge shock during the pandemic.
Covid-related absences doubled from June 7 to June 28.
Mr Yousaf said Scotland still outperforms the rest of the UK in A&E statistics.
Nearly two-thirds of patients are being seen within the four-hour target.
Mr Yousaf added: “We are also continuing to work directly with health boards with the poorest performance to ensure the 18-week waiting time standard is met.”
Drug and alcohol treatment targets are being met nationally, but he added: “We will of course continue to engage with and advise the areas that have not met the standard for this quarter.”
He said a new “urgent and unscheduled care collaborative programme” will be supported by £50 million, helping to reduce A&E waiting times.
Another £40 million will be spent to clear children’s mental health backlogs by March 2023.
An extra £15 million will be given to local authorities to deliver locally based mental health and wellbeing support for five to 24-year-olds in their communities.
If you have been impacted by long waiting times and wish to share your story, please fill in the form below.
This article is part of a series that aims to make data about waiting times and pressures on the NHS more accessible and easy to understand. You can view the rest of the series below.
