Interim Chief Executive of NHS Scotland, John Connaghan, has published his 2012/13 annual report highlighting lower waiting times, safer care and an increasing life expectancy as key achievements of the NHS in Scotland over the last year.
The report details progress made by the NHS in relation to the Scottish Government’s 2020 Vision for the NHS in Scotland and the Healthcare Quality Strategy for Scotland. The report highlights:
• Sustained delivery of elective treatment waiting times, including the 18-week Referral to Treatment (RTT) waiting time standard and the introduction of the inpatient and day case Treatment Time Guarantee (TTG).
• Fast treatment for cancer patients, with 97.8% receiving treatment within 31 days of the decision to treat.
• Reductions in levels of premature mortality.
• A reduction in the number of delayed discharges above 28 days to just 44 in April 2013, compared to 108 one year earlier and over 2,000 in April 2002.
Commenting on the publication, Dr Brian Keighley, chairman of the BMA in Scotland, said: “While the Scottish Government has taken great steps to improve our public health, there remains much to be done. We would like to see far more done to reduce health inequalities in Scotland and believe that the introduction of inequality impact assessments across all areas of Government policy is a practical step that could be taken to ensure that those people living in the most deprived communities are not inadvertently disadvantaged by any aspect of social policy.”
