Fewer outpatients waiting longer for treatment in Scotland
It was all there. They just needed to come at the data from a less negative direction. From the BBC Scotland report, today, but tweaked ever so slightly:
Official figures show that in the final quarter of 2019, 71.9% of outpatients were admitted within 12 weeks, up from 71.3% in the previous quarter.
As you might expect, they give Miles Briggs a platform to moan. We haven’t because we know what a mess he and his pals would make of NHS Scotland if they got the chance.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-51628959
They seem to have missed the improvement in the number being treated within 18 weeks, up from 77.2% in November to 78.9% in December.
Strangely, BBC Scotland did not seem to think it informative to compare these trends against changing demand levels. It turns out that the above improvements have been achieved against a background of increasing demand:
- an increase of 2.2 per cent in people waiting for outpatient appointments
- an increase of 2.8 per cent in Accident and Emergency Department (A&E)
- attendances
- an increase of 6.1 per cent in people waiting for inpatient appointments.
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
Continued encouraging figures released by Chief Statistician today regarding the 95% of Scotstish school-leavers achieving positive destinations. (Highest recorded rate since 2009 – 2010. Howd’ya like them green apples Jackson?). Link and snippet below:
https://news.gov.scot/news/school-leaver-attainment-and-destinations-3
Scotland’s Chief Statistician today published statistics on the initial destinations and attainment of 2018-19 school leavers.
The results also show that 95.0% of 2018-19 school leavers were in a positive destination three months after leaving school, the highest rate since 2009-10. Positive destinations include higher education, further education, employment, training, personal skills development and voluntary work.
Compared to the previous year (2017-18) there was a decrease in the proportion of leavers in Higher Education, from 41.1% to 40.3%, and an increase in the proportion in Further Education from 26.5% to 27.3%. The proportion of school leavers who were unemployed fell from 5.0% in 2017-18 to 4.5% in 2018-19.
LikeLike
Also early signs of good effects from the recently introduced presumption against short sentences (of 12 months or less). Link and snippets (from Scottish legal site) below:
https://www.scottishlegal.com/article/custodial-sentences-for-periods-of-12-months-or-less-fall-to-new-low
Custodial sentences for periods of 12 months or less have fallen to their lowest point since the introduction of a presumption against short sentences.
The scheme – which the Scottish government has named ‘PASS’ – resulted in the lowest number of custodial sentences in November and December of 2019 since April 2017, at 665.
The proportion of all disposals accounted for by custodial sentences of 12 months or less fell from 12.8 per cent in April 2019 to 9.5 per cent in November 2019
While only a small number of offences that would be subject to the extended presumption have been disposed by the courts in the period covered by the publication, future publications will provide more detailed analysis.
Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “Although very early days, we are beginning to see a modest reduction in our prison population. This data suggests our penal reforms are having a positive impact – reducing the number of short custodial sentences and encouraging the use of more effective community disposals – although it is too early to directly attribute changes in sentencing to the extended presumption.
LikeLike
Oh god, Lisa Summers is back on Reporting Scotland
LikeLike
I can’t watch!
LikeLike
Haven’t had a TV in decades – it’s how I (allegedly) remain, vaguely, sane.
LikeLiked by 1 person