While the Herald scrabbles around for negative reports on NHS Scotland, such as Scandal, blunders and apologies: How NHS audiology let patients down based on one NHS Lothian case, all of Scotland’s media ignored this yesterday on the 18 week referral to treatment:

69.7% of measurable patient pathways were completed within 18 weeks of referral, 2 percentage points higher than in quarter ending March 2023.

https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/nhs-waiting-times-18-weeks-referral-to-treatment/nhs-waiting-times-18-weeks-referral-to-treatment-quarter-ending-30-june-2023/

In NHS England at the end of February 2023:

58.5% of patients waiting to start treatment (incomplete pathways) were waiting up to 18 weeks, thus not meeting the 92% standard.

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So, NHS Scotland sees 19.14% more patients within the 18 week target.

There are more than 7 million on the NHS England waiting lists so more than 1 million patients there would be seen within the target if the SNP ran things down there.

The 18 week treatment referral is one of the most important in preventing avoidable deaths. Much has been made by the Conservative Government in cutting longer waiting times but these, by definition tend not to be concerned with life-threatening conditions.