Progress on waiting times continues
Pledge on 150,000 additional appointments and procedures surpassed.
Waiting lists continue to fall in Scotland with new outpatient waits over a year decreasing for 11 consecutive months and inpatient and daycase waits reducing for 15 months in a row.
Latest Public Health Scotland statistics show that at 30 April 2026, new outpatients waits of over a year have fallen by 7.0% compared to March 2026. These waits have reduced every month since July 2025 with total waits over 52 weeks down by 76.5% in that period.
The data also shows long waits for inpatient and daycase procedures have fallen every month since July 2025 with 52 week waits decreasing by 47.4% in that period.
Waits for one of the eight key diagnostic tests are now at their lowest level since May 2021. Latest quarterly figures until 31 March 2026 show waits across endoscopy fell by 6% and radiology by 10% when compared to the previous quarter, with 52% of endoscopy tests and 78% of radiology tests having been ongoing for less than 6 weeks - the highest figure for both test types since March 2020. Waits of over a year in these specialities also fell sharply, with endoscopy down 67% and radiology down 4% compared to March 2025.
This progress comes as Scottish Government pledges on extra appointments are surpassed. The promise to provide 150,000 additional appointments last year has been exceeded, with latest data showing 168,177 additional appointments and procedures were carried out in the financial year up to March 2026 compared to same period in the previous year. New figures also show in the first 9 months of 2025-26, 34,089 procedures were carried out in National Treatment Centres, surpassing the commitment to see planned activity increasing to over 30,000.
Health Secretary Angela Constance said:
“These new figures show our plan is delivering for the people of Scotland. We are seeing sustained decreases in waits of over a year with 11 consecutive months of progress in new outpatient waits and inpatient and daycase procedures reducing for 15 months in a row. We have seen significant decreases in waits over a year in these time periods with more and more people getting the treatment they need.
“On top of this progress, new data shows we surpassed our pledges to provide additional appointments last year – with 168,177 extra appointments and procedures delivered. This is testament to the hard work of our NHS staff across Scotland and I thank them for their continued outstanding efforts.
“We know there is more to do, and I am determined to continue to build on this substantial progress and ensure people receive the treatment they need as soon as possible.”