Scottish Labour accuses SNP of ‘broken promises’ on NHS waiting times

Scottish Labour has accused the Scottish Government of “dismal failure” over “broken promises” to end year-long NHS waits.

The party pointed to a speech by Finance Secretary Shona Robison in December 2024 when she said that by March this year, nobody would wait longer than 12 months for a new outpatient appointment, inpatient treatment or day-case treatment.

Analysis of latest Public Health Scotland (PHS) figures by Scottish Labour found a combined 53,316 inpatient and outpatient waits of more than a year by January 31 2026.

The number of patients waiting more than two years was 6,391, the analysis showed.

Scottish Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said: “This has been an utterly dismal failure by the SNP, with successive ministers having broken promises to end year-long NHS waits.

“The SNP has been in power for 19 years, and yet time and time again, they have shown that the promises they make really aren’t worth the paper they are written on.

“The crisis in our NHS has become so desperate that many people are now spending their life savings to pay for private treatment, as they are having to endure such agonising waits.

“John Swinney and Neil Gray have both tried to wriggle off the hook when it comes to keeping their promise to eliminate waits over a year by March 2026, but the words of Shona Robison are in the Parliament record for everyone to see.

“In stark contrast, Scottish Labour is committed to doing whatever it takes to cut waiting times, including by using capacity wherever it is available and embracing the use of new technologies.

“In just over two months’ time, the people of Scotland will have the opportunity to turn the page on 19 years of SNP failure and choose a new direction with Scottish Labour and Anas Sarwar.”

The figures showed that on January 31, 23,057 patients had been waiting more than a year for an inpatient or day-case appointment, while 3,639 had been waiting for more than two years.

A total of 30,259 had been waiting more than 52 weeks for an outpatient appointment while 2,752 had been waiting more than two years.

Scotland’s Health Secretary Neil Gray said: “We are making clear and sustained progress in clearing waits of over a year – with waits falling for eight months in a row.

“Our plan is working and our NHS is turning a corner.

“But we know there is more to do to meet our goal on long-waits and we are determined to do it.

“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.”