Report to the People
27th February 2006
Sign of the Times
The
figures released last week showing that the NHS has met the national maximum
waiting times targets certainly made interesting reading.
They
reveal that no one in the Argyll and Clyde area is now waiting more than 6
months for inpatient or day case treatment or outpatient consultation.
When you consider that, in 2002, there were over 630 of us waiting
unlimited lengths of time, it’s a fairly impressive statistic.
But
this is not an excuse for politicians to give themselves a smug pat on the back.
True,
the proper investment and modernisation which the Scottish Parliament has
delivered is an essential first step. But,
this could not be translated into real results without the determined efforts of
NHS staff.
Take
IRH consultant surgeon, Mr Ian Morrice. Thanks
to his efforts and those of his colleagues, the IRH waiting times for patients
with breast cancer, as he recently pointed out in the Telegraph, are the lowest
in Scotland. And the waiting times
for colorectal cancer are the 6th lowest.
In
a community such as ours, which still suffers from poor public health, these are
substantial achievements and should be given the credit they deserve.
That
being said, this is no time to sit back and relax. Waits for procedures such as hearing tests are still too long
and the Executive is set to make the waiting targets even tougher.
Meeting them will be a stiffer challenge, but if everyone pulls together,
it can be done.
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