Fife A&E: waiting times improve despite rise on number of patients

The most recent data from Public Health Scotland shows that 74.5% of Fife’s A&E patients were seen within four hours in May.

Although the figure is some ways off of pre-Covid performance, the service has steadily improved since hitting rock bottom in December when only 63.2% of patients were seen within four hours. Waiting times have improved over the last six months despite increasing numbers of patients. In January, only 6208 people presented to A&E for treatment compared to 7850 people in May.

Miriam Watts, General Manager for Emergency Care, said: “Our aim is always to provide patients coming into our Accident and Emergency with the best possible care.

She continued: “A significant amount of work has gone into putting the necessary processes in place at our front door to ensure that, whether a person needs to be admitted to hospital or is well enough to be discharged, they remain in A&E no longer than is necessary. We are encouraged that this work is contributing towards the improving performance we have seen over recent months.”

Weekly data is available for Kirkcaldy’s Victoria Hospital, which is the busiest A&E department in Fife with the highest wait times. During the first week of January 2023, Victoria Hospital’s emergency department only saw 49.5% of patients within 4 hours compared to 70.6% of patients most recently in July.

Like the rest of Fife, the figures have improved despite increased A&E attendance.

She continued: “We are still seeing high numbers of people attending our A&E and our hospitals remain incredibly busy. The public continue to have an important role to play by ensuring that healthcare services are used responsibly, with A&E intended to care only for those requiring urgent treatment for the most serious and life-threatening emergencies.”