A NEW REPORT has revealed that much criticised NHS Grampian is actually a leader in Scotland in its performance both overall and in specific areas.
The report from Healthcare Scotland will come as something of a relief for the service covering Moray, Aberdeen and the North East – and perhaps a surprise to many of their critics.
In a report that highlights the extremes of care provision wherever you happen to live in Scotland, researchers undertook a comparison of NHS service performance on basic care – producing what are effectively the first ever ‘league tables’ of care provision in Scotland.
In the overall table, NHS Grampian is listed fourth of the 14 Health Boards – with only Orkney/Shetland, Western Isles and Highland performing better. The study revealed that the number of Grampian patients who have to wait longer than four hours at A&E was 3812 – far lower than those living in Fife, Glasgow, Forth Valley and Lothian.
The Tables show that, in general, patients in the North East or Highlands and Islands are much less likely to suffer from MRSA or C.Diff infections, although instances of bed-blocking is higher in Highland and Grampian compared to such as Glasgow and Lanarkshire.
Waiting time is an area of concern for patients in Grampian – the table shows that per 100,000 patients 9343 in Grampian are forced to wait more than 18 weeks from referral to treatment, higher than those in Tayside, Ayrshire, Glasgow, Fife and the Borders.
“There is a lot to be learned by comparing boards’ performance,” Dr Jean Turner, patron of the Scottish Patients Association, said of the tables. She added: “The idea is that we all pay into the health service for care from cradle to grave – but this is hit and miss and it should not be like that.
“It should not be difficult to improve standards – but if you have not got the money to be able to do that, you are in trouble.”