The NHS has more than 30,000 year-plus waits, six months on from an SNP pledge to scrap them completely.

The Scottish government pledged to end waits of over one year by March 2026 – however, as of 31 August 2026 there were still 30,130 waits of over a year across inpatient, day case and outpatient waiting lists.

The figures come as the SNP government sets a new target to end waits of over 26 weeks by 2031 – however, analysis by Scottish Labour has shown it has still not delivered on seven previous targets dating as far back as 2022.

 In response to a recent written question by Jackie Baillie, the Scottish Government refused to say when it expected to deliver on the pledge to end waits of over a year.

Scottish Labour warned “NHS patients and staff cannot afford any more failure”.

Commenting, Scottish Labour Health spokesperson Jackie Baillie said “Hundreds of thousands of Scots are languishing on NHS waiting lists, with some of them waiting not months but years.  

“None of that is the fault of exhausted NHS staff who see the SNP government set targets and then don’t deliver the resources or the plan to hit them. 

“One target after another has been abandoned over the last five years – but NHS patients and staff cannot afford any more failure.

“The SNP must set out a clear plan to deliver on its current targets and tell us when it will finally end long waits. Ministers also need to explain how plans to reorganise health boards and local government will deliver better outcomes for patients.

“Scottish Labour will work tirelessly to defend our NHS and ensure we have a health service we can rely on.”