Sturgeon: Still much work being done to ease pressure on NHS in Scotland

Nicola Sturgeon has welcomed improvements in NHS performance but claimed there is “still much work being done” to free up capacity.

The First Minister chaired a meeting of the Scottish Government’s resilience committee (SGoRR) on Friday and was updated on the situation in the health service, which is struggling through what was feared to be one of the worst winters on record.

This week, new figures showed another improvement in A&E waiting times, with 70.1% of people seen and subsequently admitted or discharged within four hours – compared to the Government target of 95%.

The Scottish Government also announced plans to relieve pressure on hospitals by buying up care home beds that could accommodate patients waiting for care packages, backed by £8 million of Government funding.

Of the 300 places that have been funded, 162 people have been discharged to temporary care facilities.

In a statement released after the meeting – that was also attended by Health Secretary Humza Yousaf and other cabinet ministers, the chief medical officer, Cosla representatives and the Scottish Ambulance Service – the First Minister said: “The continued improvement in A&E performance is something to be welcomed, but there is still much work being done on safely freeing up hospital capacity and easing pressures elsewhere in the system.

“That is why we are continuing to pursue a range of measures to enable people to leave hospital as soon as possible when it is clinically safe for them to do so.

“We remain indebted to the health and social care staff in all parts of Scotland who have continued to do an outstanding job, despite the extra challenges that winter has presented.”