Current status: Answered by Angela Constance on 21 September 2026
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its commitment in the 2026-2031 Programme for Government that no patient will wait more than 26 weeks for the treatment they need by the end of 2031, (a) what modelling has been undertaken to assess whether this target is achievable, (b) what its position is on why previous waiting-time targets have not been met, and (c) when waits of more than 52 weeks will be eradicated.
In 2025-26, the Scottish Government allocated more than £150 million additional funding to health boards to help tackle the longest waits for planned care. This funding delivered thousands more appointments, operations and procedures in 2025-26 compared to 2024-25 and saw waits of over a year decrease by 49% for inpatient and day-case and by 76.7% for new outpatient appointments between 31 July 2025 and 31 July 2026.
This shows our plan is working and delivering for the people of Scotland and, although demand pressures remain, we are seeing the tangible impact of our investment.
We are determined to continue building on this momentum and have invested an additional £100 million this year to build on the progress made in the 2025-26 NHS Operational Improvement Plan. In July, the First Minister also announced a further £90 million to support those waiting the longest for treatment and help to create more capacity within our wider healthcare system.
The Programme for Government (PfG), published on 1 September, outlines our intention to continue investing in elective services over the next 5 years to grow capacity as we work towards meeting the 26 week wait target by the end of 2031, ahead of recovering the 12 week Treatment Time Guarantee and New Outpatient standard.
We are transforming health and care services so that people in Scotland receive the best treatment, care and support to stay healthy, independent and connected to their communities for as long as possible.
We will simplify the NHS by replacing the current 14 territorial Health Boards with two Strategic Health Boards that will cover the East and West of the country. These two new boards will be responsible for the planning and delivery of NHS services across the whole of Scotland, with particular focus on making sure provision best represents local communities, particularly our rural and island communities. Within this planning framework, the Strategic Health Boards East and West will support and oversee planning and performance, identifying further opportunities to increase capacity, improve access to services and reduce waiting times.