An NHS board leader has said it is “pointless” to concentrate on waiting times standards when they will be “unachievable for a considerable period of time”.

Adam Coldwells, deputy CEO and director of strategy of NHS Grampian, gave members of the board a candid assessment of the challenges facing the health service.

Mr Coldwells warned it would take a “significant” period of time to return to usual performance, and said in the months ahead the board would aim to ‘stabilise’ the system rather than reduce waiting times.

Papers for today’s meeting of the NHS Grampian board meeting show waiting lists for inpatient and outpatient treatment continue to grow.

Roughly half of the 39,000 people referred for an outpatient appointment have been waiting more than 12 weeks, which is around the average for a mainland health board.

Two-thirds of people waiting for inpatient treatment have been on the list for 12 weeks or more.

The Scottish government target is for 95% of outpatients to be seen within 12 weeks, and inpatient and day cases covered by the Treatment Time Guarantee to be admitted within 12 weeks.

NHS Grampian is also the lowest ranking board for performance against cancer treatment standards, the board papers say.

In an introduction to Operation Iris, the health board’s plan for the next six months, Mr Coldwells said  former NHS Scotland CEO Paul Gray, who claimed the health and care system is overwhelmed, “captures the situation very well”.

Mr Coldwells said: “It seems very likely that we are facing an enduring period of challenge and that many of the issues (both urgent and emergency responses as well as backlogs in waiting times) will take a significant period to improve to the levels of performance that we all wish to achieve.

“For example, our delivery against the waiting times standard will be unachievable for a considerable period of time; it seems pointless to concentrate against these standards with no reference to the much wider complexity that we now face.”

Boards were asked to align their strategies covering the period until the end of March to the Scottish government’s NHS recovery plan, which promised to boost activity across a range of areas.

Grampian welcomed the pledge to boost activity but added: ‘the additional capacity in the immediate six months will not allow us to remobilise to pre-covid-19 levels or to significantly address existing backlog’.

Mr Coldwells said the remobilisation plan was a ‘realistic assessment of what is deliverable…and sets out a plan to stabilise our system rather than one which will reduce waiting lists.’

Read more: Ex NHS CEO: Health service needs “fundamental reform”; Hospital sets record low for four-hour A&E target; NHS board asks relatives to help “free up” beds

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