The Scottish government has allocated more than £106 million to health boards to reduce the longest waiting times for operations and procedures.

The investment has been assigned to speciality areas where it can have the greatest impact, including £25 million for trauma and orthopaedics, £21 million for imaging, and £14 million for cancer treatment.

This is part of a £200 million package, Programme for Government, which aims to build capacity, deal with delayed discharge, and improve the flow of patients through hospitals.

Health secretary Neil Gray said: “This government is focussed on taking the action needed to cut waiting lists — significant activity is already underway through this additional investment which will help us target the longest waits for treatment.

“We are determined to reduce patient waits in the year ahead and this £106 million of additional funding will help us to deliver more than 150,000 extra appointments and procedures in 2025-26. This funding is just part of our record investment of £21.7 billion for health and social care this year.

“Last year, health boards vastly exceeded the commitment to deliver 64,000 appointments and procedures — instead delivering more than 105,000 through our targeted approach. This investment will allow us to build on this progress and deliver tangible improvements for patients.”