Scottish Health Secretary Neil Gray has welcomed significant progress in reducing waiting times at NHS Lothian, confirming an additional £22 million in funding for the year ahead. The investment is part of a wider £106 million package to tackle the longest waits across Scotland’s NHS.
New figures show a 14% drop in inpatient and day case waiting lists across all specialties in NHS Lothian — from 26,462 in March 2024 to 22,762 in March 2025. The most notable reductions include:
- Urology: down 27.9%
- Gynaecology: down 20.6%
- General surgery: down 19.6%
- Orthopaedics: down 17.9%
During a visit to the Day Surgery Unit at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, the Health Secretary met with staff and patients to see first-hand how targeted investment is improving care. The unit performs 30–40 scheduled procedures daily, with a focus on same-day discharge — allowing many patients to return home from 2pm onwards.
Neil Gray, Scottish Health Secretary, said:
“This government is focussed on taking the action needed to cut waiting lists and we are determined to make it easier, faster and fairer for patients to get access to the treatment they need.
“I was pleased to meet the team at the Royal Infirmary’s Day Surgery Unit who are carrying out fantastic work to help target long waits and making significant progress. We want to build on this success and drive that improvement across Scotland – our additional investment of £106 million support this work across all health boards.
“Figures published today show monthly A&E performance at its best since July 2023 and delayed discharge at its lowest since October 2023. Our plan to improve our NHS is working and we will build on this progress by increasing capacity and investing to tackle the longest waits to ensure patients get faster access to care.”
The unit handles a wide range of procedures across five key specialties, including gynaecology, general surgery, vascular, neurosurgery, and orthopaedics. In the past year alone, it has carried out around 4,500 procedures.
Image credit: iStock
