Current status: Answered by Neil Gray on 10 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the NHS Scotland Operational Improvement Plan, which was published on 31 March 2025, what proportion of the increased planned activity delivered through the National Treatment Centre network in 2025-26 will be in ophthalmic procedures, and how many additional cataract operations are expected to be delivered as a result.
Our Operational Improvement Plan is clear that the Scottish Government will support an additional 10,000 National Treatment Centre (NTC) procedures in 2025-26.
In 2024-25 cataracts represented 36.5% of the total NTC capacity allocated. This year, this has increased to 44.9% of the total NTC capacity allocated. All of this ophthalmic activity is cataract procedures.