Three-year outpatient waits highest on record although total waiting list drops

The number of waits of more than three years for outpatient treatment in Scotland’s NHS has hit the highest on record as the total number has fallen.

Figures released on Tuesday show waiting lists of longer than three years rose from 436 to 619 between the end of August and September 30, the highest since figures were first tallied in December 2019.

The number of waits longer than two years for outpatient care also increased from 6,488 to 6,663.

Despite the increase in three-year waits, the total outpatient waiting list fell between August 31 and September 30 this year from 567,913 to 559,077.

The number of year-long waits fell sharply from 60,864 to 56,439, continuing a four-month period of reductions.

But Public Health Scotland (PHS) – which published the data – said new guidance had been implemented in July and waiting times were “not directly comparable” to periods before the change, which Scottish Labour said was an attempt to “fiddle the figures”.

The longest inpatient or day-case waiting lists also dropped for the month, the figures show, with three-year waits falling from 1,258 to 1,208; two-year waits dropping from 6,185 to 5,793; and year-long waits down from 31,261 to 29,417.

The inpatient/day-case waiting list dropped from 156,470 to 155,849 overall, meaning the total of both waiting lists outstanding at September 30 was more than 700,000.

Despite the increase in three-year outpatient waits, Health Secretary Neil Gray said the Government plans to cut waiting lists were working.

“These new figures show our plan is working and delivering for the people of Scotland – we have provided more than £110 million of additional targeted funding this year to tackle the longest waits and we are now seeing the tangible impact of our significant investment,” he said.

“We are not only seeing the total list size and longest waits come down, but we are also treating more people with activity increasing significantly compared to last month and last year.

“My thanks to all teams across the country who are working so hard to drive these improvements.

“Despite this progress, we know that many people are still facing unacceptable waits and we are determined to build on these improvements and ensure people receive the treatment they need as soon as possible.”

But Scottish Tory health spokesman Sandesh Gulhane said ministers should “hang their heads in shame” over the “atrocious figures”.

“On their watch, over 56,000 Scots had to wait over a year for treatment, and astonishingly the number of patients waiting over two years has risen to almost 7,000 – despite nationalist ministers promising to eradicate waits of over a year by the end of last year,” Mr Gulhane said.

“These intolerable delays, which were virtually eradicated by the last UK Conservative government, have a devastating impact on patients’ physical and mental wellbeing.

“Yet SNP ministers still don’t have a plan to tackle this crisis as we head into the winter months. Unless they take action, more lives will be needlessly lost.”

He urged the Health Secretary to “stop the spin” on the issue.

Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie accused the Government of trying to “fiddle the figures” by changing how the statistics are recorded.

“The SNP has made scrutiny of its record on waiting lists impossible by changing how it records data just before the election, but it won’t work,” she said.

“Diagnostic waiting times are also missing from the publication, which would have added more than 100,000 to the waiting list.

“No matter how the SNP count it, they cannot escape the fact hundreds of thousands of Scots are stuck in waiting-list hell on their watch.

“The SNP has had years to fix this crisis – it is out of ideas and out of time.”