SNP has left NHS fighting for its life as one in 10 operations are still being cancelled
Despite a pledge from John Swinney and his under-fire Health Secretary Neil Gray to 'renew' the NHS, new figures showed a decline in the number of planned operations in May compared to a year ago, while the number of them being cancelled has marginally increased.
It led to concerns about the impact cancellations have on the physical and mental health of patients.
Cases of patients being stuck in hospital because of bed-blocking were also similar in May compared to April, data from Public Health Scotland showed, sparking claims that the SNP Government has failed to deliver the improvements it has promised.
Scottish Conservative public health spokesman Brian Whittle said: 'These figures confirm that our NHS is dangerously flatlining under Neil Gray and John Swinney's disastrous stewardship.
'Having an operation cancelled at the last minute takes a huge toll on the physical and mental wellbeing of patients.
'The reason the number of cancelled operations remains so stubbornly high is almost two decades of SNP mismanagement. From years of shoddy workforce planning to the knock-on effects of their failure to eliminate bed-blocking, Scots are paying the price for Nationalist incompetence.'
The new Public Health Scotland figures showed that there were 25,067 operations planned to take place across the NHS in Scotland in May 2025, which was 311 lower than May 2024. The numbers had previously been steadily increasing since the coronavirus pandemic but 'began to plateau' from April 2024.
In the period from June 2024 to May 2025 there was a 0.6 per cent increase compared to the previous 12 month period, but this was 14.6 per cent lower than the last full pre-Covid year in 2018/19.
Public Health Scotland's report said: 'While a year-on-year increase is still being observed, the rate of growth has slowed.'
In May 2025, 2,019, or 8.1 per cent, of all planned operations were cancelled, compared to 2,018, or 8 per cent, in May 2024.
In three health boards, the rate of cancellations was well above one in ten, with 12.1 per cent in NHS Orkney, 10.5 per cent in NHS Dumfries and Galloway and 10.3 per cent in NHS Borders.
Of those appointments cancelled, 437 did not go ahead because of hospital capacity or other non-clinical reasons.
Scottish Labour health spokesman Jackie Baillie said: 'At a time when thousands of Scots are languishing on waiting lists waiting for treatment, it is a scandal that fewer operations are taking place.
'Far from tackling the crisis in our NHS, the SNP is fanning its flames.'
Figures also showed bed-blocking - where patients are medically well enough to be discharged but are stuck in hospital because they do not have a care home place or an agreed care plan - remains a significant strain on the NHS.
The number of these 'delayed discharge' cases was 1,840 in May 2025, compared to 1,868 in March 2025.
An average of 1,852 beds were occupied per day because of delayed discharge in May, which is only a marginal decline on 1,864 in April.
Dr Fiona Hunter, vice president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine Scotland, said: 'Yet again, the evidence to address delayed discharges continues to mount. As I've said before, and I will say it again, the situation at our hospitals' 'backdoor', where we are unable to discharge people, is deeply concerning and distressing for both patients and the workforce.
'Patients when they are well enough to leave want to do just that - leave to continue their recovery. But often they can't because of a lack of social care.'
She said 'seriously unwell people' in A&E are often left on trolleys waiting for a care bed, and added: 'So it is hard to celebrate slight improvements in extreme waiting times when every day my colleagues are struggling to admit vulnerable patients that need further care.
'Until available inpatient bed numbers increase the crisis in our EDs will continue.'
Health Secretary Mr Gray said: 'Despite continued pressure on our health service it is encouraging to see an increase in the number of planned operations in the last year, compared to the previous twelve months.
'We are working closely with health boards across Scotland to maximise capacity and to ensure that any patients who have had their operations cancelled are seen as quickly as possible.
'Through an additional £200 million investment contained in the Budget to reduce waiting times and improve flow through hospital, we are creating extra appointments and procedures while making greater use of regional and national working.'
On delayed discharge, he said: 'Alongside recent improvements in A&E waiting times, this latest data shows our efforts are working and our plan is delivering results.
'But we want to drive further improvements, which is why we are investing £200 million through our Budget to reduce waiting lists, expand capacity, and remove the barriers that keep patients in hospital longer than necessary - backed by a record £21 billion investment for Health and Social Care.'
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