Overall NHS Scotland boasted the country’s best performance ever, with 98.3% being seen within the target time compared to the figure of 87.7% in the same period in 2006.

At Ninewells Hospital, the number of patients having to wait above A&E’s four-hour target time has reduced dramatically from 188 in June 2006 to only 34 patients by June 2008.

Perth Royal Infirmary has also seen a significant reduction in the number of patients having to wait over the target time, from 243 patients in June 2006 to 14 patients in June 2008.

Shobhan Thakore, Consultant in Emergency Medicine in Tayside, said, “The figures have been achieved due to two aspects — we have re-arranged both how we work in A&E and how we work with other departments in the hospital.

“When patients arrive at A&E they are screened to decide if they have minor or complex problems — this means patients are seen more quickly,” he said.

“We are also working closer with other wards in the hospital and giving them plenty of warning that patients are on their way to them — the ward can then make arrangements for patients to get directly into a bed.”

He also credits the lower waiting times to NHS Tayside’s procedure where GPs refer patients directly to the correct department instead of all patients having to filter through A&E.

“It boils down to having a good team of staff who are continually working hard to get patients seen quicker,” he concluded.

The new figures also show that the NHS is continuing to reduce waiting times for patients, effectively meeting national maximum waiting times targets, including for first outpatient consultations, hospital inpatient and day case treatment.

Public Health Minister Shona Robison said, “Cutting waiting times is a clear priority for this Scottish Government to ensure patients get the treatment they need as quickly as possible.

“Today’s statistics, released by ISD Scotland, show an overall impressive performance from the NHS in Scotland, effectively meeting all our challenging national maximum waiting times targets. This is very good news for patients but it is not the end of the story.

“We cannot afford to be complacent and that’s why we are supporting boards to further cut waiting times for patients. We are working towards a ‘whole journey’ maximum waiting time of 18 weeks from GP referral to treatment, to be delivered by the end of 2011.”

Among the key statistics included are that in June, only two patients waited more than nine weeks for key diagnostic tests —again the best performance ever reported by NHS Scotland.