From Stage of treatment waiting times New outpatients, inpatients and day cases published today, the above and:

At 30 April 2026, there were an estimated 572,206 individuals on at least one new outpatient, inpatient or day case waiting list. This is equivalent to around 1 in 10 of Scotland’s population (mid-2024 estimates). Within this total, 444,036 individuals were estimated to be waiting for a new outpatient appointment, and 149,563 for an inpatient or day case admission.

The number of waits over 52 weeks has been reducing month on month, down to 14,986 at 30 April 2026, a decrease of 1,130 compared to the end of March. 

Source: https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/stage-of-treatment-waiting-times/stage-of-treatment-waiting-times-new-outpatients-inpatients-and-day-cases-26-may-2026/

You can see in the line graphs on the right, phenomenal reductions in those waiting over 52 weeks.

The number waiting on at least one list in England is 6.02m, per head of population, 4.8% more.

Source: https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/nhs-delivery-and-workforce/pressures/nhs-backlog-data-analysis