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Last saved by: Shirley James
Company: Audit Scotland

Accident and Emergency Performance Update report – Podcast transcript 
I am here with Catherine Young, a project manager with Audit Scotland, to talk about a new report, Accident and Emergency Performance Update. Catherine, can you tell me what this report is about….
This report provides an update on how the NHS in Scotland has performed against the four hour A&E target since we last looked at it in 2010. A&E departments provide a really important service for patients so this report looks at why patients are waiting longer than the Scottish Government target of four hours and it looks at what the Scottish Government has done to help improve A&E departments’ performance. 
So what are the main findings?
We found that performance against the A&E target has got worse since our last report in 2010 - although it has improved during 2013. However, overall the number of patients waiting longer than four hours is still higher and performance varies across the country. So, many A&E departments still face challenges achieving the Scottish Government’s four hour target.
Does the report identify the reasons for these delays?
Lots of factors can affect how long patients wait in A&E. A&E departments are part of a bigger health  and social care system and pressures across this system can mean patients get delayed in A&E. Delays can be down to things like a hospital bed not being available when it is needed for them   because another patient is waiting to be discharged and therefore they are  still occupying that bed.
Challenges around staffing can also affect waiting times. There are more consultants now working in A&E departments in Scotland but there are still challenges around getting the right number of all types of staff working at the right time.
Are the NHS Boards and Scottish Government doing enough?
The Scottish Government launched an Action Plan last year in response to the drop in performance against the four hour target. As part of this plan, NHS Boards and the Scottish Government are taking steps to deal with the cause of the delays. And one of the things the Scottish Government is looking at is achieving this four hour target. It is really important that the Scottish Government and NHS Boards work together to continue to reduce delays for the A&E patients. 
What next?
We have made a number of recommendations for the Scottish Government and these are mostly  around sharing good practice about initiatives than can help improve A&E department performance and, more importantly, improve the experience of A&Epatients.
Catherine, thank you