Current status: Answered by Neil Gray on 18 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what measures are in place to support NHS (a) boards and (b) Lanarkshire to improve performance against the 18-week referral-to-treatment standard.
We know many people are still waiting too long and this is not good enough. We are determined to do more and our Budget will provide a record £21.7 billion for health and social care, with more than £110 million allocated to health boards, including over £6.6 million for NHS Lanarkshire, to help tackle the longest waits for appointments and procedures.
The funding has been assigned to specialty areas for the year ahead where it can have the greatest impact against the longest waits – this includes £25 million for trauma and orthopaedics, £21 million for imaging, £14 million for cancer treatment and more than £12 million for ophthalmology.
It will also support delivery of planned care for patients across Scotland, to increase capacity and address backlogs of treatment as we work towards achieving the 18 weeks Referral to Treatment (RTT) standard.