NHS Scotland has made significant progress in cutting its longest hospital waits, but almost 590,000 people were still waiting for at least one outpatient appointment or inpatient or day case treatment at the end of August.

The latest Public Health Scotland figures show 588,073 people were estimated to be on at least one of those waiting lists, equivalent to around one in nine people in Scotland, while Health Secretary Angela Constance said progress was being made in tackling the longest waits.

There were 107,785 new outpatient attendances during August, an increase of 4.1% from July, while the outpatient waiting list was 11.1% smaller than it had been a year earlier.

The number of outpatient waits lasting more than 52 weeks has fallen by 77% over the past 12 months.

However, only 62.8% of new outpatient waits completed during August were within the national 12 week standard, which sets a target of 95%.

There were 23,185 inpatient and day case admissions during August, with 54.7% of completed waits meeting the 12 week Treatment Time Guarantee.

The number of inpatient and day case waits lasting more than 52 weeks has fallen by 49.2% over the past year and has now fallen for 19 consecutive months.

National Treatment Centres carried out 45,798 procedures during 2025 to 2026, nearly twice the number recorded during the previous year.

Cancer figures for the second quarter of 2026 show 94.8% of patients began treatment within 31 days of a decision to treat, while 73.6% began treatment within 62 days of an urgent suspicion of cancer referral.

Hospital at Home services have also continued to expand, with 48 services accepting more than 8,400 patients between May and July, an increase of 28% since November 2025.

Health Secretary Angela Constance said:

“These figures illustrate that our exceptional NHS workforce is treating more people across Scotland and making clear progress in reducing the longest waits.

“This is supported by targeted Scottish Government investment to build more capacity in the system.

“Our National Treatment Centres carried out nearly double the number of procedures in 2025-26 compared to the previous year, reflecting their critical role in reducing waiting times.

“In the 12 months to August 2026, outpatient waits over a year have reduced by 77% and inpatient and day case waits have reduced by 49.2%.

“In cancer services, the NHS is treating more patients in Scotland compared to pre-pandemic and 10 years ago, with the median wait from decision to treat to first cancer treatment just two days.

“However, I am clear we can and must do more to tackle waits and use every inch of capacity in our NHS to ensure patients get the care they need, when they need it.”

The Scottish Government says an additional £90 million is being invested this year to reduce the longest waits, alongside plans to expand Hospital at Home so more than 10,000 people can use the service this winter.

The latest figures therefore show two sides of Scotland’s waiting list picture, with substantial reductions in the longest waits alongside hundreds of thousands of people who are still waiting for hospital care.