Scottish Labour has accused the SNP of “complacency” as NHS waiting lists climb again.

New Public Health Scotland data has revealed that in June outpatient waiting lists rose for the third consecutive month.

The number of ongoing outpatient waits in Scotland has risen by more than 8,400 since March.

Progress cutting inpatient and day case waiting lists also stalled, while progress reducing the number of waits over a year slowed across the board.

The SNP previously pledged that by March 2026 no-one would be waiting more than 12 months for a new outpatient, inpatient or day case appointment – however these damning new figures show there are more than 31,000 ongoing waits of over a year across these lists.

Prior to that, the SNP had initially pledged to end one-year outpatient waits for most specialties by March 2023.

Scottish Labour said these and other commitments “lie in tatters”.

Commenting, Scottish Labour Health spokesperson Jackie Baillie said “These shameful trends must be a wake-up call for this complacent SNP government.

“The SNP’s cynical sticking plaster approach to fixing our NHS is already starting to fall apart, leaving NHS patients and staff to pay the price.  

“Countless SNP NHS plans already lie in tatters – we cannot afford more of the same broken promises and missed targets.

“The SNP must wake up to this crisis and set out a real plan to cut waiting lists and give patients an NHS they can rely on.”