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Scottish Government
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£22 million to tackle waiting times in NHS Lothian
Additional funding to build on progress in clearing longest waits.
Health Secretary Neil Gray has welcomed progress in reducing waiting lists at NHS Lothian as he confirmed the health board will be allocated an additional £22 million for the year ahead - as part of a £106 million investment across the NHS to tackle the longest waits.
Latest figures show a 14% decrease last year in inpatient/daycase waits for all specialties at NHS Lothian – down from 26,462 at 31 March 2024 to 22,762 at 31 March 2025.
The reduction in ongoing waits was driven by reductions in:
- General surgery -19.6%
- Gynaecology -20.6%
- Orthopaedics -17.9%
- Urology -27.9%
On a visit to the Day Surgery Unit at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, the Health Secretary met with staff and patients and saw first-hand the positive impact Scottish Government investment is having on waits. The Day Surgery Unit carries out 30 - 40 scheduled procedures every day – this helps allow patients to leave for home from 2pm onwards with a focus on same day discharge.
A huge variety of procedures are performed with patients from a mix of five specialties, including gynaecology, general surgery, vascular, neurosurgery and orthopaedics. Last year, around 4,500 procedures were carried out by the Unit.
Mr Gray said:
“This government is focussed on taking the action needed to cut waiting lists and we are determined to make it easier, faster and fairer for patients to get access to the treatment they need.
“I was pleased to meet the team at the Royal Infirmary’s Day Surgery Unit who are carrying out fantastic work to help target long waits and making significant progress. We want to build on this success and drive that improvement across Scotland – our additional investment of £106 million support this work across all health boards.
“Figures published yesterday show monthly A&E performance at its best since July 2023 and delayed discharge at its lowest since October 2023. Our plan to improve our NHS is working and we will build on this progress by increasing capacity and investing to tackle the longest waits to ensure patients get faster access to care.”
Background
Original article link: https://www.gov.scot/news/22-million-to-tackle-waiting-times-in-nhs-lothian/
