Scottish health secretary Neil Gray has confirmed an additional £22 million for NHS Lothian this year, which is part of a £106 million investment across the NHS to tackle the longest waiting lists.

From March 2024 to March 2025, inpatient/daycare waits at NHS Lothian have decreased by 14 per cent, from 26,462 to 22,762 in the space of a year.

The reduction in ongoing waits is mainly driven by urology (27.9 per cent), but also in gynaecology (20.6 per cent), general surgery, and orthopaedics (17.9 per cent).

The health secretary, on a visit to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, 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 we 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—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 price 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.”