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

There were 25,253 operations planned to take place across NHS Scotland. This is 1% more (+247) than the number planned in August 2025 (25,006). Over the course of the last 12 months, from September 2025 to August 2026 (308,558), there was a 5.9% increase (+17,320) compared to the previous 12 months (291,238). This is consistent with the trend of generally increasing numbers of planned operations since March 2021.

In NHS Scotland, 8.4% (2,112) of planned operations were cancelled the day before or on the day the patient was due to be treated. This is lower (-0.3 percentage points) than the corresponding percentage a year previously in August 2025 (8.7%; 2,167). The average cancellation rate over the last 12 months was 8.8%, slightly higher than one year earlier when it was 8.7%, and the same as the 12-month average rate immediately prior to the Covid pandemic. Across NHS boards, the percentage ranged from 4.8% to 11.9% in the most recent month.

Of all planned operations during August 2026 in NHS Scotland, 802 (3.2%) were cancelled the day before or on the day of treatment by the hospital for clinical reasons, 717 (2.8%) by the patient, 516 (2.0%) by the hospital due to capacity or non-clinical reasons, and 77 (0.3%) for other reasons. Note, only the 2.0% due to capacity is a reasonable measure of competence and justifies the 98% readiness figure.

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

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