Scotland’s NHS waiting lists are falling in some areas, but the latest official figures still show an estimated 579,814 people on at least one planned-care waiting list.
That is around one in ten people in Scotland.
The figures, published by Public Health Scotland on 30 June 2026, cover new outpatient appointments, inpatient treatment and day-case treatment up to 31 May. They show real improvement from the worst of the backlog, especially for some long outpatient waits, but they also show a health service still far from meeting its own standards.
The Scottish Government has presented the latest data as evidence of a year of progress. Health Secretary Angela Constance said the figures showed sustained improvement, pointing to a 12.9% annual fall in the new outpatient waiting list, a continued reduction in outpatient waits of more than a year, and cancer-treatment performance that has improved against some historic comparisons.
Those claims are supported by parts of the data, bu they do not describe the whole position.
At 31 May 2026, an estimated 450,947 people were waiting for a new outpatient appointment. The total number of ongoing outpatient waits stood at 496,098, up 1.3% from the end of April, marking the second consecutive monthly increase. Public Health Scotland also reported 14,571 outpatient waits of more than 52 weeks, including 1,073 waits of more than two years.
The national standard is that 95% of new outpatients should wait no longer than 12 weeks from referral to being seen. In May, 63.5% of completed outpatient waits met that standard, down from 65.5% in April.
The inpatient and day-case figures show a similar pattern: some improvement against last year, limited progress month to month, and performance still well short of the formal guarantee.
Public Health Scotland reported 22,336 inpatient and day-case admissions during May 2026. Of these, 56% were completed within 12 weeks of treatment being agreed. The Treatment Time Guarantee says eligible patients should wait no longer than 12 weeks for inpatient or day-case treatment after the decision to treat.
At 31 May, there were 156,366 ongoing waits for inpatient or day-case treatment. That was down 0.3% from April and 2.1% lower than the same point last year. Long waits moved in the wrong direction. There were 17,267 waits over 52 weeks, up 55 from the end of April, ending a sustained period of monthly reductions. Of these, 2,268 had exceeded two years.
The government is entitled to point to reductions in the backlog where they exist. Public Health Scotland’s figures show outpatient waiting lists are smaller than they were a year ago, and the number of waits over one year has fallen substantially from earlier peaks. The public is also entitled to notice that the official standards are still being missed by wide margins.
The cancer figures add further caution. Public Health Scotland’s latest quarterly cancer waiting-times release, also published on 30 June, showed that 72.2% of eligible patients started treatment within 62 days of urgent suspicion of cancer referral in the quarter ending 31 March 2026. The standard is 95%. No NHS board met it.
The 31-day cancer standard came closer to being met. Public Health Scotland reported that 94.5% of eligible patients started treatment within 31 days of decision to treat, against a 95% standard. Eleven of 15 NHS boards met that measure.
These figures show where ministerial statements can become misleading if they are read without the underlying data. A service can improve and still fail its standards. A list can fall and still leave hundreds of thousands of people waiting. A long-wait category can shrink while the system remains unable to deliver timely treatment for many patients.
There is also a technical issue in the way waiting-time data is now reported. Public Health Scotland moved to monthly publication and revised waiting-time guidance after changes issued by the Scottish Government in December 2023. The Office for Statistics Regulation said the statistics remain accredited official statistics and noted that monthly publication gives the public and policymakers more timely information.
Audit Scotland has warned that the revised rules also affect how waits are calculated. Its NHS in Scotland 2025 report said the updated guidance can reset a wait to zero days where clinically appropriate, or if a patient cancels or fails to attend an agreed appointment. Audit Scotland noted that the length of waits under the new guidance may be marginally shorter for some patients because of administrative adjustments rather than because patients are being seen more quickly.
The more difficult concern is whether the health service has enough capacity to keep reducing waits while meeting rising demand. Audit Scotland reported that cancer referrals had increased compared with pre-pandemic levels. For the year to June 2025, referrals on the 62-day cancer pathway were 18.1% higher than in the year to June 2019. Referrals on the 31-day pathway were 8.7% higher.
BMA Scotland has made a similar argument from the workforce side. In April, it called for long-term reform, a clearer plan for shifting more care closer to home, better measures of NHS performance and an evidence-based workforce plan. The organisation warned that short-term measures would not be enough to put the NHS on a sustainable footing.
The Scottish Government’s own March 2026 progress report acknowledged the pressure. It said activity had increased and long waits had fallen in 2025-26, while also recognising rising demand, demographic change, winter pressures and financial constraints.
The public needs a clear account of what is improving, what is stalled, and what remains unsafe or unacceptable.
Sources
Public Health Scotland, Stage of treatment waiting times: new outpatients, inpatients and day cases, 30 June 2026:
https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/stage-of-treatment-waiting-times/stage-of-treatment-waiting-times-new-outpatients-inpatients-and-day-cases-30-june-2026/
Scottish Government, A year of waiting times progress, 30 June 2026:
https://www.gov.scot/news/a-year-of-waiting-times-progress/
Public Health Scotland, Cancer waiting times, 1 January to 31 March 2026:
https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/cancer-waiting-times/cancer-waiting-times-1-january-to-31-march-2026/
Audit Scotland, NHS in Scotland 2025: Finance and performance:
https://audit.scot/publications/nhs-in-scotland-2025-finance-and-performance
Audit Scotland PDF, NHS in Scotland 2025: Finance and performance:
https://audit.scot/uploads/2025-11/nr_251204_NHS_in_Scotland_2025.pdf
Office for Statistics Regulation, Compliance review of inpatient, day case and outpatient stage of treatment waiting times produced by Public Health Scotland:
https://osr.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/publication/compliance-review-of-inpatient-day-case-and-outpatient-stage-of-treatment-waiting-times-produced-by-public-health-scotland/
BMA Scotland, BMA Scotland launches manifesto for the NHS, 15 April 2026:
https://www.bma.org.uk/news-and-opinion/bma-scotland-launches-manifesto-for-the-nhs
BMA Scotland Manifesto 2026 PDF:
https://www.bma.org.uk/media/sgxjj15k/bma-scotland-manifesto-2026.pdf
Scottish Government, Health and social care: a year of progress 2025-2026:
https://www.gov.scot/publications/year-progress-driving-improvement-building-stronger-nhs-2025-2026/
Public Health Scotland, NHS Scotland hospital waiting times dashboard:
https://waitingtimes.publichealthscotland.scot/
