Current status: Answered by Neil Gray on 4 March 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that the 12-week target for outpatient cardiology appointments is met.
As part of this year’s additional investment in Planned Care, we have allocated over £500,000 to Health Boards to reduce long waits for cardiology. Between 31 July 2025 and 31 January 2026, new outpatient waits over 52 weeks for cardiology reduced by 70%, while waits of over 12 weeks have reduced by 17%.
We want to maintain that momentum which is why our budget for next year includes a record figure of almost £22.5 billion for health and social care. We will scale up productivity and efficiency programmes to create additional capacity, as we work towards achieving the 12 week new outpatient standard. Health boards will also take forward a new collaborative subnational planning approach - working together to optimise capacity for all specialities, including cardiology, so that patients receive the care that they need as soon as possible.