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Scotland’s politicians have returned to parliament after the summer recess, and Scottish Labour has continued its criticism of the SNP’s handling of the NHS.
In a post that was shared across social media channels, and mentioned in the Scottish Parliament by Jackie Baillie MSP, the party claimed that Scots were facing significantly more long waiting times for NHS treatment than people in England.
NHS waits of over two years are 800 times more common in Scotland than England.
Ferret Fact Service looked at this claim and found it Mostly True.
Scottish Labour’s claim is based on analysis of waiting times data in Scotland and England, combined with population estimates.
The party combined inpatient, day case and outpatient treatment data for June 2025, which adds up to 14,963 cases where a person had to wait two years or more for a particular treatment.
Labour then compared this with the population of Scotland, which according to the latest 2023 population estimates from the Office for National Statistics is 5,490,100.
By dividing the number of cases by the estimated population of Scotland, they found that there was one wait of two years or more for every 367 people in the country.
The same calculation was made for England. According to statistics from NHS England, there were 182 cases where a person waited two years or more for treatment. England — with an estimated population of 57,690,300 — has one wait of two or more years for every 317,000 people. This would mean a two year wait is 864 times more likely in Scotland than in England.
It is this calculation that has given Scottish Labour the basis for its claim that “waits of over two years are 800 times more common in Scotland than England”.
While comparisons between waiting times across the UK should be made with caution, it’s clear that there are significantly more long wait times in Scotland than in England at present.
Scottish Labour’s claim combined the data for different kinds of waiting lists.
Broadly speaking, what’s known as the referral to treatment, or RTT, patient experience is similar across the UK. In most cases it starts with a GP, consultant or specialist nurse referring someone for new or further healthcare treatment. This may include further appointments or tests to determine the best course of action.
Inpatient and day case waits measure how long someone waits to be admitted for hospital treatment after it’s been agreed they need it. Outpatient waits measure the time a person waits for their first consultant-led appointment following a referral.
It should be noted that individual patients are likely counted more than once in these statistics if they are waiting to attend more than one scheduled appointment, so the data doesn’t show how many individuals are waiting for appointments, instead the number of waits.
The data clearly shows waits of two years or more are much more widespread in Scotland than in England. Scottish Labour has compared the figures with population size to support its claim that waits are “800 times more common” in Scotland. However, because some people may be on more than one list, it does not mean that someone in Scotland is 800 times more likely to be on a waiting list.
Scottish Labour’s claim that long wait times are 800 times more common in Scotland than England is based on accurate statistics. Comparisons between Scotland and England combining wait times with population data should be treated with caution, as the statistics do not show the number of individuals waiting, but the number of waits overall. It is possible for someone to be on more than one waiting list at the same time.
Main image: Nickbeer/iStock
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