Scottish Government
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NHS waiting lists continue to fall
Health Secretary hails ‘undeniable progress’ in tackling long waits.
New figures show wating lists in Scotland continue to fall with waits of over a year decreasing for 8 consecutive months.
Data from Public Health Scotland shows, at 31 January 2026, new outpatient waits of more than 52 weeks have more than halved since July 2025 – with the total waits decreasing by 52.6% in that period.
Long waits for inpatient and day case procedures have also fallen every month since July 2025, with 52 week waits decreasing by 29.8% in that 8 month period.
New quarterly diagnostics statistics also show that, at 31 December 2025, the number of waits for one of the eight key diagnostic tests had decreased by 15.1% when compared to 30 September 2025.
The figures also show diagnostic activity has risen - 245,377 diagnostic tests were completed from September 2025 to December 2025, a 10.2% (22,741) increase in activity when compared to the same quarter last year. This means thousands of patients receiving their MRIs, scans and scopes quicker to support faster diagnosis and referral onto the right patient pathway.
On a visit to the dermatology department at the Lauriston Building in NHS Lothian, where new outpatient waits over 52 weeks have fallen by more than 46%, Health Secretary Neil Gray yesterday said:
“We are making undeniable progress in clearing waits of over a year – we are demonstrating consistent month-on-month improvement. We know there is still more to do but these latest figures show that our plan is working and our NHS is turning a corner.
“We continue to see downward trends across nearly all waiting list indicators and diagnostic activity is up – this means thousands more people getting their MRIs, scans and scopes quicker.
“Our targeted funding for this year is delivering thousands more operations and procedures and appointments compared to last year, and we are determined to build on this momentum. This progress has been driven by our dedicated and hard-working NHS staff. I thank them for their outstanding efforts.
“I was pleased to meet the dermatology team at the Lauriston Building to hear how they are driving progress in clearing waits at NHS Lothian. The total list size for new outpatient waits of more than 52 weeks has reduced by 46.4% since July 2025, with dermatology waits reducing by 67.78% in that period. This is outstanding progress that we want to see replicated across the country.”
Background
Stages of Treatment statistics
Original article link: https://www.gov.scot/news/nhs-waiting-lists-continue-to-fall/
