HOSPITALS are being urged to focus on priority patients in accident and emergency departments to help reduce waiting times for those in greatest need.
New guidance has been issued to help move non-emergency cases to the correct service after consultation with a senior clinician.
Health Secretary Alex Neil said the approach would be taken across Scotland following success in NHS Tayside.
"This new guidance will make sure all patients are getting the right treatment, in the right place and by the right clinicians," he said.
"That not only helps the NHS meet demands, but it is better for patients as they get treated quicker.
"Our A&E departments provide a remarkable service, and day in, day out they ensure those patients who have the most imminent need get access to the fastest possible treatment."
In Tayside, about 80,000 patients are seen each year at A&E in Perth Royal Infirmary and Ninewells, Dundee. About 4000 patients a year are sent on to a different service for treatment, such as a GP, NHS 24 or out-of-hours clinic.
Examples could include patients seeking treatment for ingrown toenails, toothache or earache, the Scottish Government said.
NHS Tayside chief executive Lesley McLay said: "The public have always recognised that A&E is for those with genuine emergencies, but they are not always aware of what alternatives are out there.
"By having a senior clinician assess and redirect patients as necessary we can ensure everyone receives the appropriate treatment."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article