NHS Shetland outpatient waiting times

 Information on new outpatient waiting times in NHS Shetland

What these statistics show

The following is shown for each specialty:

  • how many patients were seen at an outpatient clinic between 1 April 2023 to 30 June 2023
  • median wait – one simple way of explaining this is that roughly half of patients waited less than the median and half of patients waited longer
More information on these statistics

These statistics relate to the wait experienced by patients from 1 April 2023 to 30 June 2023 who were:

  • seen at a new outpatient appointment, or
  • admitted for treatment

About the median wait

The median wait aims to provide the typical length of time patients waited to be seen and complete their wait. This is provided for each health board and speciality so that you can get information on the ones relevant to you.

For patients currently on a waiting list, some will have waited less than the median and others will have waited longer. This'll have been partly influenced by a clinical decision on the urgency of care required.

The wait experienced by patients may vary from the median for a number of reasons, including the:

  • clinical need of the individual
  • availability of services
  • number of patients waiting to be treated

During the pandemic services were often under pressure and only patients with urgent care needs could be treated. This was reflected in shorter median waits. More patients who had their wait delayed are now being seen but waiting time statistics will most likely continue to fluctuate as boards address the backlog of patients waiting for care whilst managing ongoing challenges on capacity.

About the statistics

These statistics are collated and quality assured by Public Health Scotland.

If your waiting time isn't shown here, please visit the Public Health Scotland website for the full release of national statistics. You can also contact your local health board for further information.

These statistics were gathered from national data on patients who completed their wait for treatment from 1 April 2023 to 30 June 2023. The statistics for this period are displayed in weeks.

Statistics are not included if there were less than 20 patients admitted for treatment in the period. This is to make sure that the:

  • risk of revealing information about individual patients is minimised
  • number of cases is high enough to provide meaningful statistics

The next set of statistics will be published on 28 November 2023. This'll show waiting times from 1 July 2023 to 30 September 2023.

Back to waiting times home page

Waiting times in Shetland

Dermatology

Number of patients seen:

  • 101

Median waiting time:

  • 10 weeks
General Medicine

Number of patients seen:

  • 132

Median waiting time:

  • 5 weeks
Gynaecology

Number of patients seen:

  • 121

Median waiting time:

  • 5 weeks
Orthopaedics

Number of patients seen:

  • 58

Median waiting time:

  • 35 weeks
Rheumatology

Number of patients seen:

  • 48

Median waiting time:

  • 6 weeks
Ear, Nose and Throat

Number of patients seen:

  • 69

Median waiting time:

  • 7 weeks
General Surgery

Number of patients seen:

  • 465

Median waiting time:

  • 5 weeks
Opthalmology

Number of patients seen:

  • 102

Median waiting time:

  • 11 weeks
Paediatrics

Number of patients seen:

  • 90

Median waiting time:

  • 8 weeks

Help and support with waiting times

Your local health board can provide further information on waiting times. You can also contact them if you have any queries around your waiting time.

Contact NHS Shetland on:

Keeping well

It's important that you try to keep yourself as fit and healthy as possible while you wait for your treatment. This'll give you the best chance of a good recovery afterwards.

Support for people waiting on hip and knee replacements

Further information on keeping well