Scotland’s NHS has delivered welcome news for thousands of patients as waiting times for treatment continue to drop for the seventh month in a row. The latest figures show the longest delays are shrinking fast, while hospitals carried out thousands more operations than the year before.
Public Health Scotland’s data for 31 December 2025 reveals the sharpest progress yet in clearing the backlog built up during the pandemic.
Longest Waits Cut by Double Digits Again
Patients facing the most agonising delays, those waiting over a year for a first outpatient appointment, saw their numbers fall 15.4 per cent in just one month.
That brings the total reduction since July 2025 to a remarkable 40.1 per cent.
The picture is just as encouraging for inpatient and day-case treatment. Waits longer than 52 weeks have now fallen every single month for half a year, down 23.9 per cent overall in that period.
Health boards in every part of Scotland contributed to the improvement, with particular success in orthopaedics, ophthalmology, and general surgery, the specialties that traditionally carry the heaviest backlogs.
Record Number of Operations Performed
Behind the falling waits lies a simple truth: Scotland’s hospitals are treating more people than ever.
From January to December 2025, NHS Scotland carried out 274,638 planned operations and procedures, a rise of 5.6 per cent on the previous year.
That means roughly 15,000 additional operations were completed in a single year, enough to fill Hampden Park three times over.
Staff working extra evenings and weekends, plus better use of independent sector capacity, helped drive the increase.
Health Secretary Hails Staff Effort
Neil Gray, Scotland’s Health Secretary, said the numbers prove the service has “turned a corner”.
“Thousands more appointments, operations and procedures are being delivered this year and we are determined to continue to build on this momentum,” he said.
“None of this would be possible without our hard-working NHS staff and I want to thank each and every one of them for the progress they are delivering.”
The Scottish Government has backed the recovery with hard cash too. Up to £20 million extra funding is being handed to health boards this financial year specifically to protect these gains and push waiting times even lower.
How Scotland Compares to the Rest of the UK
While patients in England still face record-high waiting lists topping 7.6 million, Scotland’s total planned care waiting list now stands at its lowest level in over two years.
Key comparisons (December 2025 vs December 2024):
- Patients waiting over 52 weeks for outpatient appointment: down 40.1 per cent in Scotland (still rising in England)
- Patients waiting over 18 months for treatment: virtually eliminated in Scotland (still tens of thousands in England)
- Planned operations performed: up 5.6 per cent in Scotland (flat or falling in most English regions)
The gap is now the widest it has been since the pandemic struck.
Patients Finally Seeing Light at End of Tunnel
For people like 68-year-old Margaret from Glasgow, who waited 78 weeks for a hip replacement until last month, the change feels real.
“I was in constant pain and couldn’t walk to the shops,” she said. “Getting my operation before Christmas has given me my life back.”
Stories like Margaret’s are becoming the norm rather than the exception across Scotland’s hospitals.
Staff morale is rising too. One senior orthopaedic surgeon in Edinburgh told us: “We finally feel we are winning instead of firefighting every day.”
The sustained progress has also reduced pressure on emergency departments, as fewer patients reach crisis point while stuck on waiting lists.
Scotland’s NHS still faces real challenges. Demand continues to grow with an ageing population, and winter pressures are never far away. Some specialties, particularly dermatology and urology, still carry longer waits than anyone would like.
Yet the direction of travel is clear and consistent. Seven straight months of falling long waits is not a blip; it is the result of focused investment, hard work, and smarter ways of working.
For the first time in years, patients across Scotland have genuine reason to believe the worst of the backlog is behind them.
The message from hospitals is simple: keep going.
What do you think? Are you or someone you know finally getting treatment faster? Share your experience in the comments below.
