From Cancelled planned operations Month ending 31 March 2026 published today, the above and:

There were 28,454 operations planned to take place across NHS Scotland. This is 12.8% higher (+3,228) than the number planned in March 2025 (25,226). Over the course of the last 12 months, from April 2025 to March 2026 (307,272), there was a 7.2% increase (+20,756) compared to the previous 12 months (286,516). This reflects the post-Covid pandemic trend of generally increasing planned operations. The latest figure is the highest number of operations planned to take place in the post-pandemic period and [only] 3.3% lower (-961) than March 2019 (29,415), the latest equivalent month prior to the pandemic.

Of all planned operations during March 2026 in NHS Scotland, 915 (3.2%) were cancelled the day before or on the day of treatment by the hospital for clinical reasons, 849 (3%) by the patient, 621 (2.2%) by the hospital due to capacity or non-clinical reasons, and 134 (0.5%) for other reasons.

Source: https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/cancelled-planned-operations/cancelled-planned-operations-month-ending-31-march-2026

This is a massive achievement only 4 years after ‘the most extreme combined health and economic crisis in the last century.’ https://www.who.int/about/funding/invest-in-who/investment-case-2.0/challenges

NHS England does not anticipate full recovery until March 2029! https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/reforming-elective-care-for-patients.pdf