I have raised my concerns over a significant increase in patients waiting over 52 weeks for treatment across NHS Fife since February 2024 with NHS Fife Chief Executive Carol Potter
I first wrote to Carol Potter on this issue in February 2024 highlighting the number of people waiting over 52 weeks for treatments at the end of the year had more than doubled compared with the same period the previous year and was the highest on record with 2991 patients across NHS Fife waiting over 52 weeks for new outpatient appointments.
However, figures now show that a staggering 4834 patients are waiting over 52 weeks for new outpatient appointments – an over 60% increase on the previous highest on record figure in the space of nine months.
I’m also concerned by figures showing an increase in those waiting over 78 weeks for hip or knee replacements over the past twelve months.
I have asked what explanation NHS Fife has for the massive increase in waiting times and what specific plan NHS Fife has for action to reduce the waiting times.
I am deeply concerned that not only have waiting times not improved in the last nine months but they have spiralled out of control.
An over 60% increase in the number of NHS Fife patients waiting over 52 weeks for new outpatient appointments is a dire situation and one that will need a robust and urgent action plan to rectify.
The situation is so bad and the numbers waiting have risen so much for outpatients that over one in ten of all ongoing waits for outpatient appointments are over 52 weeks, sitting about the whole of Scotland equivalent figure – this is simply not acceptable.
I am also concerned that the number of people waiting over 78 weeks for hip or knee replacements has increased over the past twelve months – this means people are waiting over a year and a half for treatment for problems that will massively impact their abilities to stay mobile and enjoy life, problems that we know will get harder to manage the longer they are left untreated and problems that often leave people suffering in excruciating pain while they wait for treatment.
People deserve to be given the best of treatment as urgently as possible which is why I have written to Ms Potter to ask what reason there is for this massive increase in numbers waiting this long and what urgent action is being taken to rectify this situation.
