MSP

The TTG specifies that all people waiting for an inpatient or day case procedure must be treated within 12 weeks, and was enshrined in law in by the Scottish Government in 2012. However, MSP for Mid Scotland Fife, Claire Baker said today that the legal target has never been met, and the TTG was missed more than 80,000 times across Scotland last year.

Claire Baker said: “Patients in Fife, and across Scotland, continue to bear the brunt of the mismanagement of Scotland’s NHS by the SNP Government.

"The Treatment Time Guarantee provides a legal right to treatment within 12 weeks and that it continues to be broken is a real concern both for patients and the NHS.

“Treatment delays can have considerable impacts on work, family life, and the physical and mental wellbeing of individuals, as well as on hospital efficiency. The news that thousands of patients in Fife are waiting over 12 weeks for treatment which should be guaranteed in that period is simply not good enough".

She concluded:“Patients in Fife deserve quick and efficient treatment, not long waits, and the SNP needs to act to improve the situation across health boards.”

The Scottish Government has an improvement plan currently in operation which sets out the aim – by Spring 2021 - to improve performance on outpatients waiting less than 12 weeks to 95%, and for inpatients and day cases under the treatment time guarantee to 100%. Also by Spring 2021 there is an aim for 95% of patients awaiting cancer treatment to be seen within the 62 day standard.

The plan sets out how the Scottish Government will take action in three main areas: • increasing capacity across the system; • increasing clinical effectiveness and efficiency; and • designing and implementing new models of care.