Current status: Answered by Neil Gray on 11 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the First Minister's speech on improving public services and NHS renewal, which was published on 27 January 2025, what proportion of the additional 10,000 procedures planned across the National Treatment Centres will be in ophthalmology, and how this compares with previous years.
In total over 16,000 cataract procedures at National Treatment Centres (NTCs) have been allocated to health boards across Scotland in 2025-2026 (44.9% of the total NTC allocation). This is compared to over 13,500 cataract cases allotted to NTCs in 2024-2025 which made up 36.5% of total NTC capacity allocated last year. This activity is split between NTC Highland and the Eye Centre at the Golden Jubilee University National Hospital. Please note that some activity performed by NTC Highland is a re-provision of core activity for NHS Highland.
Health Boards are also delivering additional ophthalmology activity in 2025-26 as part of the £106M funding to reduce waiting times and improve capacity and the wider £21.7bn investment we are making in health and social care services this year.