Humza Yousaf announces £30m ‘initial investment’ to tackle NHS waiting times

First Minister Humza Yousaf has announced £30 million will be spent over the next three months as part of Scottish Government efforts to reduce NHS waiting times (Jeff Moore/PA)

Humza Yousaf has pledged action to reduce the number of patients waiting too long for NHS treatment – with the First Minister announcing that £30 million will be spent to tackle the issue in the next three months.

The cash is part of £300 million the Scottish Government has promised to spend addressing backlogs in the health service over the next three years.

The initial cash will be used to reduce backlogs for treatment that built up during the Covid pandemic, including for orthopaedic treatment and diagnostic tests for those suspected of having cancer, as well as targeting patients who have suffered the longest waits.

It comes after official figures showed that at the end of 2023 there were 824,725 people in Scotland waiting for an outpatient appointment, tests or treatment.

Statistics from Public Health Scotland also revealed that as of December 31, there were 17,761 Scots who had been waiting 18 months or more for in-patient or day case treatment – including 7,179 patients who had been waiting at least two years while 1,446 patients had been on the list for three years or more.

The new investment comes as the Scottish Government estimates its action to tackle waiting times will reduce lists by 100,000 patients over the next three years.

Mr Yousaf announced the initial tranche of £30 million as he visited the National Treatment Centre in Fife, which was opened exactly one year ago.

The First Minister said: “As I set out last October, we are committed to accelerating treatment in our NHS and reducing inpatient and day-case waiting lists by an estimated 100,000 patients over the next three years, backed by planned investment of an extra £100 million annually.

“This initial investment of £30 million will target reductions to national backlogs that built up through the pandemic, including orthopaedic treatment, diagnostics for cancer referrals and patients with the longest waits.

“This is all part of our programme to drive up productivity and tackle waiting lists, supported by the Centre for Sustainable Delivery.”

First Minister Humza Yousaf said the £30 million boost was the first instalment of £300 million in funding to help reduce NHS waiting times in Scotland (Jane Barlow/PA)

Mr Yousaf added: “Together, our actions will further enable NHS Scotland to maximise capacity, build greater resilience and deliver year-on-year reductions in the number of patients who have waited too long for treatment.”

Scottish Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said the First Minister had been “reduced to highlighting pledges he made months ago” on the NHS.

Dr Gulhane, who is a GP as well as an MSP, said: “Since then, waiting times have continued to spiral for suffering patients and the pause button has been hit on the construction of vital new healthcare facilities across the country.

“The First Minister still cannot accept the overwhelming failures of his flimsy NHS recovery plan, which was produced over two-and-a-half years ago.

“Frontline services remain in crisis and it is my dedicated colleagues and patients desperate for treatment who are paying the price for his inaction.

“Humza Yousaf needs to do better than recycling promises – only for them to fail – and drive down waiting times as a matter of urgency.”