NHS Fife has moved to assure patients following the revelation that hundreds of sick and injured people waited more than 12 hours to be seen in accident and emergency units.
Damning statistics released last week showed that last year 476 patients spent at least half a day at Queen Margaret Hospital, Dunfermline, or Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy, to be dealt with by A&E staff.
The figure accounted for more than half of the Scottish total of just under 900 patients.
However, NHS Fife chief executive John Wilson said the health authority is now meeting Scottish Government targets for the treatment, admission or discharging of A&E patients.
Mr Wilson agreed that the performance was unacceptable but, in a letter to The Courier, has outlined the action taken since the end of March to cut waiting times.
He said: ”We have worked hard in that time to overcome the deficiencies which we identified as contributing to patients being delayed in accident and emergency and minor injury units.”
He said this included more allied health professional staff working at weekends, improved discharge planning to create room for emergency admissions, improved early warning systems to enable swifter action within the four-hour target time and the advertisement of four new consultant posts.
Work under way in community hospitals and with Fife Council social care services to ensure patients are being transferred from A&E to the next stage of their treatment is also paying dividends, he said.
”Our local information shows that we are now working within the Scottish Government standard of treating, admitting or discharging 98% of patients attending for emergency treatment within four hours,” he added.
”I hope this reassures your readers that the situation is much improved from that reported.”