Record high hospital waiting lists increase again in Scotland

Latest statistics show that the number of patients on hospital waiting lists in Scotland has risen again to almost 625,000.

The number waiting for a planned operation or outpatient appointment, such as cataract removal or hip replacement, is almost double the average before the Covid pandemic.

More patients continue to be added to waiting lists than are being removed from them and there are no prospects of the backlog being cleared in the near future.

Some specialties have particularly long waits.  For outpatients, gastroenterology has the highest proportion waiting longer than a year to see a specialists.  For inpatient treatment, that includes specialisms like orthopaedics, gynaecology and paediatric surgery.

Scotland’s health secretary Humza Yousaf said that despite significant pressures, progress was being made on NHS waiting times, adding that the number of people being seen was the highest since the start of the pandemic.

He said “We know that challenges remain and some people continue to wait too long for treatment, but we are determined to continue to work with NHS boards to provide support to drive improvements across our health service.”

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Posted by Karen Motley, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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