NHS Scotland health board

NHS Lothian

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

88 days

Outpatient median so far (August 2026)

115 days

Inpatient/day-case median so far

79,598

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
Ophthalmology	12,858	100 days	280 days	218
Gynaecology	10,421	137 days	445 days	1,705
Dermatology	8,647	84 days	206 days	39
Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery	7,824	96 days	348 days	658
General Surgery (excl Vascular)	6,321	96 days	237 days	18
Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT)	4,822	76 days	200 days	18
Rheumatology	3,218	124 days	286 days	16
Plastic Surgery	2,930	90 days	255 days	11
Gastroenterology	2,633	49 days	152 days	6
Paediatrics	2,553	83 days	285 days	136
Urology	2,252	81 days	183 days	56
Respiratory Medicine	2,110	75 days	192 days	9
Neurosurgery	2,053	104 days	258 days	4
Vascular Surgery	1,438	89 days	215 days	0
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery	1,359	110 days	314 days	93
Cardiology	1,156	26 days	66 days	0
Neurology	1,032	25 days	103 days	0
Paediatric Surgery	889	109 days	256 days	0
Endocrinology	860	62 days	174 days	0
Clinical Neurophysiology	793	181 days	454 days	191
Anaesthetics	581	45 days	87 days	0
Diabetes	549	48 days	178 days	0
Paediatric Dentistry	363	60 days	116 days	1
Geriatric Medicine	362	19 days	69 days	0
Orthodontics	354	132 days	249 days	2
Clinical Oncology	236	11 days	32 days	0
Haematology	232	18 days	53 days	2
General Medicine	199	13 days	54 days	1
Restorative Dentistry	122	24 days	61 days	0
Infectious Diseases	99	20 days	89 days	0
Cardiac Surgery	77	31 days	65 days	0
Medical Oncology	74	7 days	25 days	0
Renal Medicine	73	34 days	69 days	0
Endocrinology & Diabetes	34	82 days	283 days	1
Thoracic Surgery	32	24 days	67 days	0
Oral Surgery	27	118 days	145 days	0
Oral Medicine	6	not published	not published	3
Immunology	5	not published	not published	0
Palliative Medicine	4	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
Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery	4,330	133 days	341 days	340
General Surgery (excl Vascular)	3,770	150 days	365 days	382
Urology	2,651	157 days	326 days	96
Ophthalmology	2,169	67 days	186 days	32
Plastic Surgery	1,807	97 days	322 days	141
Gynaecology	1,466	113 days	319 days	72
Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT)	1,423	105 days	349 days	124
Cardiology	1,383	97 days	367 days	141
Neurosurgery	539	125 days	376 days	57
Paediatric Dentistry	515	89 days	252 days	6
Paediatric Surgery	416	109 days	222 days	11
Vascular Surgery	274	101 days	269 days	1
Cardiac Surgery	220	116 days	265 days	1
Oral Surgery	180	283 days	446 days	56
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery	171	110 days	200 days	6
Thoracic Surgery	105	62 days	525 days	19
Medical Oncology	71	11 days	33 days	0
Community Dental Practice	71	110 days	377 days	9
Haematology	60	9 days	38 days	0
Clinical Radiology	42	62 days	342 days	3
Clinical Oncology	37	39 days	314 days	1
Gastroenterology	29	31 days	291 days	2
Paediatrics	15	not published	not published	0
Respiratory Medicine	11	not published	not published	0
Rheumatology	11	not published	not published	0
Neurology	5	not published	not published	0
Cleft Lip and Palate Surgery	2	not published	not published	1

Month by month (outpatient median)

Month	Median (days)	Waiting
2024-08	130	97,880
2024-09	132	98,456
2024-10	128	96,003
2024-11	131	96,993
2024-12	140	97,367
2025-01	144	97,023
2025-02	141	95,876
2025-03	140	96,941
2025-04	141	98,661
2025-05	132	99,874
2025-06	133	100,702
2025-07	133	101,950
2025-08	130	100,679
2025-09	127	99,160
2025-10	123	97,218
2025-11	118	93,584
2025-12	118	90,014
2026-01	113	88,155
2026-02	107	86,355
2026-03	92	83,294
2026-04	86	80,835
2026-05	86	80,098
2026-06	83	79,514
2026-07	85	80,351
2026-08	88	79,598

Source: Public Health Scotland, Stage of Treatment Waiting Times, August 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.

Also on HospitalWaits: England (compare trusts)Wales (by health board)

Outpatient waits by specialty

People waiting for a FIRST appointment with each specialty.

Specialty	Waiting	Median so far	9 in 10 within	>52 weeks
Ophthalmology	12,858	100 days	280 days	218
Gynaecology	10,421	137 days	445 days	1,705
Dermatology	8,647	84 days	206 days	39
Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery	7,824	96 days	348 days	658
General Surgery (excl Vascular)	6,321	96 days	237 days	18
Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT)	4,822	76 days	200 days	18
Rheumatology	3,218	124 days	286 days	16
Plastic Surgery	2,930	90 days	255 days	11
Gastroenterology	2,633	49 days	152 days	6
Paediatrics	2,553	83 days	285 days	136
Urology	2,252	81 days	183 days	56
Respiratory Medicine	2,110	75 days	192 days	9
Neurosurgery	2,053	104 days	258 days	4
Vascular Surgery	1,438	89 days	215 days	0
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery	1,359	110 days	314 days	93
Cardiology	1,156	26 days	66 days	0
Neurology	1,032	25 days	103 days	0
Paediatric Surgery	889	109 days	256 days	0
Endocrinology	860	62 days	174 days	0
Clinical Neurophysiology	793	181 days	454 days	191
Anaesthetics	581	45 days	87 days	0
Diabetes	549	48 days	178 days	0
Paediatric Dentistry	363	60 days	116 days	1
Geriatric Medicine	362	19 days	69 days	0
Orthodontics	354	132 days	249 days	2
Clinical Oncology	236	11 days	32 days	0
Haematology	232	18 days	53 days	2
General Medicine	199	13 days	54 days	1
Restorative Dentistry	122	24 days	61 days	0
Infectious Diseases	99	20 days	89 days	0
Cardiac Surgery	77	31 days	65 days	0
Medical Oncology	74	7 days	25 days	0
Renal Medicine	73	34 days	69 days	0
Endocrinology & Diabetes	34	82 days	283 days	1
Thoracic Surgery	32	24 days	67 days	0
Oral Surgery	27	118 days	145 days	0
Oral Medicine	6	not published	not published	3
Immunology	5	not published	not published	0
Palliative Medicine	4	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
Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery	4,330	133 days	341 days	340
General Surgery (excl Vascular)	3,770	150 days	365 days	382
Urology	2,651	157 days	326 days	96
Ophthalmology	2,169	67 days	186 days	32
Plastic Surgery	1,807	97 days	322 days	141
Gynaecology	1,466	113 days	319 days	72
Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT)	1,423	105 days	349 days	124
Cardiology	1,383	97 days	367 days	141
Neurosurgery	539	125 days	376 days	57
Paediatric Dentistry	515	89 days	252 days	6
Paediatric Surgery	416	109 days	222 days	11
Vascular Surgery	274	101 days	269 days	1
Cardiac Surgery	220	116 days	265 days	1
Oral Surgery	180	283 days	446 days	56
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery	171	110 days	200 days	6
Thoracic Surgery	105	62 days	525 days	19
Medical Oncology	71	11 days	33 days	0
Community Dental Practice	71	110 days	377 days	9
Haematology	60	9 days	38 days	0
Clinical Radiology	42	62 days	342 days	3
Clinical Oncology	37	39 days	314 days	1
Gastroenterology	29	31 days	291 days	2
Paediatrics	15	not published	not published	0
Respiratory Medicine	11	not published	not published	0
Rheumatology	11	not published	not published	0
Neurology	5	not published	not published	0
Cleft Lip and Palate Surgery	2	not published	not published	1

Month by month (outpatient median)

Month	Median (days)	Waiting
2024-08	130	97,880
2024-09	132	98,456
2024-10	128	96,003
2024-11	131	96,993
2024-12	140	97,367
2025-01	144	97,023
2025-02	141	95,876
2025-03	140	96,941
2025-04	141	98,661
2025-05	132	99,874
2025-06	133	100,702
2025-07	133	101,950
2025-08	130	100,679
2025-09	127	99,160
2025-10	123	97,218
2025-11	118	93,584
2025-12	118	90,014
2026-01	113	88,155
2026-02	107	86,355
2026-03	92	83,294
2026-04	86	80,835
2026-05	86	80,098
2026-06	83	79,514
2026-07	85	80,351
2026-08	88	79,598