NHS Forth Valley: Waiting times at FVRH A&E unit improve

The latest figures issued today show that 53.4 per cent of people were dealt with within the four hour target, compared to 45 per cent the previous week. However, it is still well below the 75.4 per cent who were seen in the timeframe at the same period last year.

There were slightly fewer people attending at the Larbert hospital’s emergency department last week, down from 901 to 892.

Nationally seven out of ten people were seen within four hours, the highest proportion of patients treated within the target time since the week ending May 22 last year.

At FVRH the number waiting over four hours was 416 and of those 205 waited over eight hours with 115 over 12 hours. Last week the figures were 496 over four hours, 235 over eight hours and 144 over 12 hours so there were improvements all round.

Health officials will be hoping that people are heeding the message to only go to the A&E unit in an emergency and instead use the minor injuries until in Stirling or the urgent care centre at Forth Valley Royal. They also encourage people to make use of their community pharmacist or the NHS Inform website of the helpline on 0800 22 44 88 for advice on common symptoms, guidance for self-help and where to go if further medical care is needed.

Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said he was “encouraged" to see the improvements, adding: “Performance over four hours is the best we have seen since last May, this is welcome and recent progress is a testament to the exceptional efforts of NHS staff. We are doing everything we can to help the health service through the remainder of the most challenging winter in its history.”