Over 700 hospital appointments in the Western Isles were broken in the last year.
Information obtained by the Scottish Conservatives show that there were 713 instances where a referral had been made where the patient “did not attend,” meaning that hundreds of appointments that could have gone to others were wasted.
Although slightly below the national average of 9.4%, the Western Isles figure of 8.4% is the highest out of all of the island health boards.
Further figures showed that between April 2016 – March 2017 there were 436 instances of patients in the Western Isles waiting over the 18 weeks referral to treatment target.
Highlands and Islands MSP Donald Cameron said the figures are “very concerning, particularly in light of the fact that so many people have not been treated after they were referred by a GP within 18 weeks.
“Anyone who receives an outpatient appointment at a hospital needs to attend and if they are unable to for whatever reason, must inform the hospital so that another person can be seen.
“This is one of the many ways that the public can play a crucial role in reducing waiting times, so that more people can be treated earlier, which is of great benefit to public health.”
Hundreds waste hospital appointments in Western Isles
12 December 2017