NHS Scotland health board

NHS Highland

Public Health Scotland official statistics, May 2026. Medians are the midpoint wait so far of people still on the list — half have already waited longer.

81 days

Outpatient median so far (May 2026)

85 days

Inpatient/day-case median so far

21,660

Waiting for a first appointment

Outpatient waits by specialty

People waiting for a FIRST appointment with each specialty.

Specialty	Waiting	Median so far	9 in 10 within	>52 weeks
Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery	2,594	75 days	193 days	2
Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT)	2,457	111 days	416 days	306
Gynaecology	2,314	111 days	322 days	102
General Surgery	2,273	60 days	171 days	0
Dermatology	2,242	81 days	271 days	3
Gastroenterology	1,633	184 days	421 days	264
Ophthalmology	1,454	32 days	132 days	8
Oral Surgery	1,244	154 days	505 days	320
Rheumatology	703	142 days	339 days	33
Urology	620	51 days	161 days	8
Clinical Neurophysiology	519	74 days	140 days	0
Neurology	368	57 days	159 days	0
Orthodontics	360	114 days	327 days	13
Respiratory Medicine	351	41 days	136 days	1
Cardiology	346	32 days	187 days	0
Diabetes	297	256 days	379 days	63
Endocrinology	277	110 days	338 days	12
Neurosurgery	220	183 days	451 days	52
General Medicine	210	30 days	82 days	0
Vascular Surgery	166	33 days	104 days	0
Paediatrics	147	20 days	65 days	0
Paediatric Surgery	140	97 days	173 days	0
Geriatric Medicine	109	21 days	82 days	0
Plastic Surgery	99	108 days	276 days	1
Clinical Oncology	83	19 days	64 days	0
Restorative Dentistry	78	40 days	69 days	0
Clinical Genetics	73	111 days	242 days	2
Pain Management	70	41 days	261 days	3
Rehabilitation Medicine	61	65 days	139 days	0
Chemical Pathology	61	41 days	90 days	0
Haematology	50	16 days	166 days	1
Renal Medicine	23	25 days	43 days	0
Infectious Diseases	13	not published	not published	0
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery	2	not published	not published	0
Endocrinology & Diabetes	1	not published	not published	0
General Surgery (excl Vascular)	1	not published	not published	0
Anaesthetics	1	not published	not published	0

Inpatient / day-case waits by specialty

People waiting for admission for treatment.

Specialty	Waiting	Median so far	9 in 10 within	>52 weeks
Ophthalmology	1,827	40 days	276 days	130
Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery	1,638	125 days	313 days	87
General Surgery	1,084	99 days	240 days	11
Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT)	787	109 days	251 days	7
Urology	582	137 days	340 days	16
Gynaecology	425	130 days	367 days	44
Oral Surgery	194	82 days	184 days	1
Community Dental Practice	164	102 days	216 days	1
Plastic Surgery	131	122 days	556 days	32
Vascular Surgery	75	39 days	120 days	0
Cardiology	72	23 days	221 days	0
Paediatrics	54	41 days	238 days	2
Paediatric Surgery	19	not published	not published	0
Clinical Oncology	15	not published	not published	1
General Medicine	8	not published	not published	0
Respiratory Medicine	7	not published	not published	0
Gastroenterology	6	not published	not published	0
Renal Medicine	3	not published	not published	0

Month by month (outpatient median)

Month	Median (days)	Waiting
2025-05	122	26,789
2025-06	117	26,301
2025-07	111	26,282
2025-08	108	25,451
2025-09	105	24,569
2025-10	100	23,641
2025-11	93	22,603
2025-12	91	22,353
2026-01	92	21,371
2026-02	86	20,930
2026-03	75	20,464
2026-04	77	20,937
2026-05	81	21,660

Source: Public Health Scotland, Stage of Treatment Waiting Times, May 2026. Open Government Licence. Scottish stage-of-treatment waits are not comparable with English referral-to-treatment figures — see methodology. “Not published” = withheld or qualified by PHS, never zero.

Outpatient waits by specialty

People waiting for a FIRST appointment with each specialty.

Specialty	Waiting	Median so far	9 in 10 within	>52 weeks
Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery	2,594	75 days	193 days	2
Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT)	2,457	111 days	416 days	306
Gynaecology	2,314	111 days	322 days	102
General Surgery	2,273	60 days	171 days	0
Dermatology	2,242	81 days	271 days	3
Gastroenterology	1,633	184 days	421 days	264
Ophthalmology	1,454	32 days	132 days	8
Oral Surgery	1,244	154 days	505 days	320
Rheumatology	703	142 days	339 days	33
Urology	620	51 days	161 days	8
Clinical Neurophysiology	519	74 days	140 days	0
Neurology	368	57 days	159 days	0
Orthodontics	360	114 days	327 days	13
Respiratory Medicine	351	41 days	136 days	1
Cardiology	346	32 days	187 days	0
Diabetes	297	256 days	379 days	63
Endocrinology	277	110 days	338 days	12
Neurosurgery	220	183 days	451 days	52
General Medicine	210	30 days	82 days	0
Vascular Surgery	166	33 days	104 days	0
Paediatrics	147	20 days	65 days	0
Paediatric Surgery	140	97 days	173 days	0
Geriatric Medicine	109	21 days	82 days	0
Plastic Surgery	99	108 days	276 days	1
Clinical Oncology	83	19 days	64 days	0
Restorative Dentistry	78	40 days	69 days	0
Clinical Genetics	73	111 days	242 days	2
Pain Management	70	41 days	261 days	3
Rehabilitation Medicine	61	65 days	139 days	0
Chemical Pathology	61	41 days	90 days	0
Haematology	50	16 days	166 days	1
Renal Medicine	23	25 days	43 days	0
Infectious Diseases	13	not published	not published	0
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery	2	not published	not published	0
Endocrinology & Diabetes	1	not published	not published	0
General Surgery (excl Vascular)	1	not published	not published	0
Anaesthetics	1	not published	not published	0

Inpatient / day-case waits by specialty

People waiting for admission for treatment.

Specialty	Waiting	Median so far	9 in 10 within	>52 weeks
Ophthalmology	1,827	40 days	276 days	130
Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery	1,638	125 days	313 days	87
General Surgery	1,084	99 days	240 days	11
Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT)	787	109 days	251 days	7
Urology	582	137 days	340 days	16
Gynaecology	425	130 days	367 days	44
Oral Surgery	194	82 days	184 days	1
Community Dental Practice	164	102 days	216 days	1
Plastic Surgery	131	122 days	556 days	32
Vascular Surgery	75	39 days	120 days	0
Cardiology	72	23 days	221 days	0
Paediatrics	54	41 days	238 days	2
Paediatric Surgery	19	not published	not published	0
Clinical Oncology	15	not published	not published	1
General Medicine	8	not published	not published	0
Respiratory Medicine	7	not published	not published	0
Gastroenterology	6	not published	not published	0
Renal Medicine	3	not published	not published	0

Month

Median (days)

Waiting

2025-05

122

26,789

2025-06

117

26,301

2025-07

111

26,282

2025-08

108

25,451

2025-09

105

24,569

2025-10

100

23,641

2025-11

22,603

2025-12

22,353

2026-01

21,371

2026-02

20,930

2026-03

20,464

2026-04

20,937

2026-05

21,660