stewartb
An article about NHS Scotland in Holyrood Magazine today has a very odd statistic. Am I missing something?
See: Holyrood Magazine (February10, , 2025) Bed Bound: The chronic problem of delayed discharges is tying up resources across the NHS.
Here is the text with the problematic stat (the named reference is to the author of a recent IFS report): ‘The honest answer is that it’s probably too early to tell, although Phillips says there are some signs of recovery in England’s NHS based on available data. Meanwhile, figures published last week showed more than 180,000 patients waited more than eight hours to be seen in Scotland’s A&E departments, the worst figure on record, ….’
From the Public Health Scotland website:
December 2024: ‘19,111 (14.7%) patients spent more than 8 hours in A&E (compared to 15,074 (11.5%) the previous month, and 12,359 (9.8%) monthly average for 2023).’
Week Ending 26 January 2025: ‘3,351 (14.3%) patients spent more than 8 hours in a type 1 Department (compared to 3,338 (13.7%) the previous week, and 3,364 (12.5%) weekly average for 2024).’
So where does the 180,000 come from? Of course the journalist omits to tell readers the time period to which the statistic refers. So is it plain wrong or some ‘secret’ aggregation of months statistics by the journalist to get to a big scary number?
It’s also notable that in a paragraph which seeks to draw an unfavourable comparison with NHS England, the journalist opts to use an A&E waiting times performance metric – viz. over 8 hour waits – that NHS England does NOT report!
The journalist could have reported on 12 hour waits in December 2024. Yes, this would have shown deterioration in the December performance both in Scotland and England but would have revealed how superior by far the performance of NHS Scotland is on this metric – and has long been so. Couldn’t have that!
Or the journalist could have shared the December 2024 statistic for over 8 hour waits in A&E departments in Wales.
This source reports that of attendances at ALL emergency departments in Wales, 19.7% spent over 8 hours. Of attendances at ‘major emergency departments’ in Wales, the percentage spending over 8 hours was 26%. Recall in the latest week for which statistics are available, the equivalent figure for NHS Scotland was just 14.3%.
None of the NHS emergency facilities across the UK are performing as they should regarding waiting times. No serious/reasonable commentator is suggesting otherwise. And I have no wish to understate or somehow sugar coat the situation in Scotland. That is not the point at issue.
Exposing the partial reporting of NHS Scotland by most media outlets supposedly ‘serving’ Scotland is the motivation, the necessity. Too many persist in seeking to influence voters here by blatantly avoiding the provision of context, perspective, true/fair comparative assessments and candidly, avoiding any in depth, objective analysis of the underlying causes of the present state of the NHS across the UK.
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
The article in question https://archive.ph/EoVP4
The IFS were recently pushing a report which purported to demonstrate ‘performance’ in Scotland’s NHS had not recovered to the same extent ‘post-Covid’ as in England – In all likelihood the orphaned stat was from that report.
I’m wary of such ‘performance’ arguments over the NHS, it’s not a product you are dealing with, but people with all their numerous complexities – If you were to take a production line approach to care, do you throw the patient into the wheelchair and park them in the out queue because you have a time target to meet ?
Chris Marshall’s article plays the political game over the NHS, a media posture unique to Scotland, as his opening “With Scotland’s NHS seemingly in a state of permanent crisis, John Swinney recently began taking a more hands-on role in administering to its needs” perfectly demonstrates.
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The flu bug has meant waiting times A&E can be longer. So what. People who are desperately ill need first priority. Against minor aliments.
The Tories under funded the NHS for years. Austerity made more people ill. Scotland has to mitigate these affected policies. More monies are being put into the NHS. The fuel allowance was cut meaning more people will end up in hospital. No joined up policies by Westminster.
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