First Minister seeks further progress after fall in outpatient waiting times

First Minister John Swinney has said he is determined to “drive further progress” as new figures showed a significant improvement in NHS outpatient waiting times.

Public Health Scotland data shows that across all health boards new outpatient waiting times more than 52 weeks have fallen by as much as 90% in some specialities over the past six months.

From the end of July 2025 to the end of January 2026, waiting times are down 94% for rheumatology, 91% for haematology, 85% for endocrinology & diabetes and 87% for general medicine.

Waits for paediatric surgery have also reduced by nearly 60%.

Specifically in NHS Grampian, new outpatient waits more than a year have fallen by as much as 84.6% for ophthalmology and 82% for gynaecology since July 2025.

Mr Swinney said: “Our plan is delivering a better NHS for the people of Scotland.

“In the last year we have seen real, sustained progress - month after month.

“Activity is up, long waits are down and the hard work of all our NHS teams is delivering real, measurable change. I want to deeply thank each and every one of them for their continued efforts.

“Substantial progress has been reported across every health board and across key specialties where funding has been targeted this year.

“In some areas we’ve seen long waits for new outpatients falling by as much as 100%, with thousands more people being treated.”

Mr Swinney visited Aberdeen Royal Infirmary to hear how key services are helping to drive down waiting times and improve access to healthcare, such as the chest x-ray AI system, the frailty service and Hospital at Home, which provides short-term care for acutely unwell patients in their own home.

He continued: “I am determined to drive further progress and ensure services continue to be accessible, efficient and better-tailored to people’s needs - whether at home, in the community or in hospital.

“The work I have seen at NHS Grampian is an excellent example of the kind of innovation which is helping us to deliver better care for everyone in Scotland.”