New figures from Public Health Scotland show a significant rise in the number of operations carried out over the 12 months to January 2026, with surgical activity increasing by 6.1% compared with the previous year.
A total of 276,118 operations were performed during this 12‑month period – equating to 756 operations per day, up from 713 per day in the year ending January 2025. The increase highlights ongoing efforts across the health service to expand capacity and improve access to planned care.
The rise in operations follows encouraging waiting‑time statistics showing sustained progress in reducing the longest waits:
- New outpatient waits over 52 weeks have more than halved since July 2025
- Inpatient and day‑case waits over a year have fallen by almost 30% over the same timeframe
- Long waits have now decreased for eight consecutive months
These improvements reflect targeted national programmes to increase surgical activity, protect planned care, and reduce backlogs created during the most challenging years of the pandemic.
The move from 713 to 756 operations per day represents continued recovery of elective activity, bolstered by the use of:
- Extended theatre sessions
- Additional weekend operating
- High‑throughput surgical centres
- Improved patient flow and pre‑assessment processes
The Scottish Government and NHS boards have been working to expand elective capacity, reduce cancellations and stabilise waiting times across key specialities including orthopaedics, ophthalmology and general surgery.
Neil Gray, Scottish Health Secretary, commented:
“These new figures show that our plan is delivering for Scotland – I am pleased to see sustained and continued improvement in the number of operations carried out, despite on-going pressures and the adverse weather seen over Winter which has impacted activity.
“I thank all NHS staff for their continued hard work – they are driving this progress and these figures are further evidence that our NHS is turning a corner.
“We are seeing waits of over a year come down month after month and we are delivering thousands more operations, procedures and appointments compared to last year - we are determined to build on this momentum.”
While progress is evident, rising demand for care continues to place pressure on surgical services. The latest statistics underline the importance of:
- Ongoing investment in staff, facilities and equipment
- Continued expansion of protected elective capacity
- Maximising efficiency across surgical pathways
- Supporting patients through prehabilitation and early intervention
Public Health Scotland will continue to publish regular updates, enabling transparency on recovery progress and helping boards target further improvements.
Image credit: iStock
