A multimillion pound package to improve waiting times in accident and emergency units is beginning to pay dividends, according to the Scottish Government.
The claim comes at the end of the first year of the £50million Unscheduled Care Action Plan.
Earlier this month a report from the public sector watchdog Audit Scotland found that the number of people not seen within the four-hour target nearly trebled between 2008-09 and 2012-13.
The government said its assessment of the unscheduled care action plan showed that between the Scottish Government and health boards some £30million had been pumped into the system producing “significant improvements” in A&E waiting times.
Along with local initiatives, more staff had been taken on across Scotland, including 18 A&E consultants. There had also been a rollout of digital whiteboards to improve the flow of patients in hospitals across the country.
The government said with fresh A&E figures out this week, the action plan had “slashed” the number of long waits in emergency departments with an 87% reduction in patients waiting more than 12 hours.
In addition, the number of people attending A&E who were seen and treated within four hours was 93.5% for December 2013, which has increased from 90.3% in the same month in 2012.
Health Secretary Alex Neil said: “Our health service staff provide a remarkable service, day in day out, to ensure that patients who have the most imminent need get access to the fastest possible treatment.
“That is why I am so pleased to see that our vital unscheduled care services both in and outwith hospitals have been supported by an additional £10million in central funding and over £20million from local investment, in the first year of our unscheduled care action.
“To see the range of improvements that has already come out of this investment is substantial and we must now build on this initial progress over the next two years.”