People in Tayside are having to wait less time for cancer treatment and access to mental health services, new figures have shown.
The most recent NHS Tayside board performance report showed that the service was performing well against the majority of targets set by the Scottish Government.
Speaking at a meeting of the board, Dr Alan Cook addressed some of the positive outcomes which were highlighted in the report.
He told the board: “There has been a big improvement in the outpatient conversion rate, managing the current demand and clearing the backlog.
“The diagnostic waiting times, cancer waiting times and child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) waiting times were also highlighted as improving.”
The number of CAMHS patients treated within 18 weeks of referral increased from 91% to 96% from December to January and remained at 96% in February, against a 90% target.
Carol Goodman, NHS Tayside general manager for medicine, confirmed that this trend had continued throughout the last month.
She said: “All new referrals for children and young people to the CAMHS service continue to be seen within the referral to treatment waiting times standard of 90% of referrals seen within 18 weeks.
“NHS Tayside is currently exceeding the target with 95.5% of our children and young people being seen within 18 weeks of referral in March 2016.”
Health and social work convener Councillor Ken Lynn lauded NHS Tayside for its progress in the face of considerable structural challenges.
He told the Tele: “The improvement in waiting times is great news, especially considering the well-documented and numerous pressures the NHS is facing.
“Given the targets set by the Scottish Government, which are very rigorous, with the majority sitting in the 90s in terms of percentage, this is a huge step in the right direction.
“When you also take into account the problems the NHS has had with attracting and maintaining full and part-time staff, these figures are extremely pleasing.”
Accident and emergency performance has also maintained its performance, with Tayside ranked first nationwide. The A&E departments continued to exceed the national target of 95% of patients seen within four hour target, achieving 98.4% across January and February.