NHS spending millions to tackle Scottish waiting time backlogs
£30 million is being used to slash a growing list built up during the pandemic
The NHS is spending £30 million to tackle waiting time backlogs that built up during the Covid pandemic - with Health Secretary Neil Gray saying the cash will deliver "year-on-year reductions" in the number of Scots waiting too long for treatment.
The funding - the first slice of £100 million already promised by ministers to reduce waits for NHS treatment - is being targeted at specialist areas where the Scottish Government hopes it will have the greatest impact on the longest waits, including cancer care, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, dermatology and diagnostics.
It could result in an additional 12,000 procedures being carried out, 40,000 diagnostic procedures and 12,000 new outpatient appointments, the Government suggested.
Activity levels across the NHS should now increase over the coming weeks, with the Government vowing to work closely with NHS boards.
The funding comes after then first minister Humza Yousaf pledged £100 million to reduce waiting times in October 2023, saying at the time this cash could remove an estimated 100,000 patients from NHS waiting lists over three years.
In April this year, the Government confirmed the first instalment would be £30 million.
Mr Gray said: "This initial investment of £30 million will target reductions to national backlogs that built up through the pandemic.
"This is all part of our programme to tackle waiting times, including waiting lists for orthopaedic treatment and diagnostics for cancer.
"Together, our actions will help Scotland's NHS maximise capacity, build greater resilience and deliver year-on-year reductions in the number of patients who have waited too long for treatment."
He said the number of people waiting more than two years for an initial outpatient appointment in the NHS was down by more than half in the last two years, insisting ministers "want to build on that progress".
Mr Gray continued: "As part of the £30 million, we have invested close to £2 million in ophthalmology, helping to increase activity in the short term as we aim to deliver one cataract procedure every 30 minutes on standard lists.
"This will allow a more resilient and sustainable service for the future."