Fifth of chronic pain patients waited over a year for appointment, figures show

Ministers have come under fire for the “extreme delays” patients suffering from chronic pain face before they can get help.

The Scottish Conservatives said Scots are being “left to languish in pain”, as new figures showed more than a fifth (21.6%) of those seen in specialist pain clinics between April and June this year had waited a year or more for their appointment.

Calling for action, Tory health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said Health Secretary Neil Gray “can’t ignore this situation anymore”.

His comments came as a report from Public Health Scotland on chronic pain waiting times said the “proportion of patients who experienced longer waits has increased”.

Average figures for 2024 show 7.9% of patients waited 12 months or more for their initial appointment at a chronic pain clinic, while in 2019 – prior to the Covid pandemic – just 0.3% of patients waited this long.

It came as the number of patients on the waiting list for help with chronic pain grew.

As of June 30 there were 5,768 people waiting for their first appointment at a specialist clinic – up 16% from June 2024.

Chronic pain clinics saw 1,767 patients over the period April to June 2025 – and while this was up 4% on January to March, it was down 4.2% on the same period last year.

Public Health Scotland noted: “During 2024, an average of just under 2,000 patients were seen each quarter, which is lower than prior to the Covid-19 pandemic when an average of just under 3,000 patients were seen per quarter during 2019.”

It explained the change was “largely due” to some health boards offering patients alternatives to being seen by a consultant – adding those who take up this option are no longer considered to be waiting.

Dr Gulhane said: “On the SNP’s watch, far too many patients are forced to wait over a year for a chronic pain appointment.

“These aren’t just statistics, these are loved ones left to languish in pain because of the SNP’s dire workforce planning and (former health secretary) Humza Yousaf’s botched recovery plan.

“The Tory warned such “extreme delays” can “take a huge mental and physical toll on patient’s health”, saying many people are left “with no option but to raid their savings to go private”.

Dr Gulhane added that while “frontline staff are working flat-out”, they are “being failed by a system drowning in bureaucracy and crippled by cash-starved health boards”.

Public health minister Jenni Minto welcomed the rise in the number of people seen at clinics in the latest quarter.

But she said: “I am, however, determined to further improve care and support for people living with chronic pain.

“Everyone should be able to access the services they need, when and where they need them. That’s why we continue to work closely with the NHS to make progress on the issues that people living with chronic pain have told us matter most to them.”