How does the NHS in Scotland compare to the rest of the UK?

In Scotland’s data a single patient could be on multiple waiting lists.

However, PHS estimates that around one in 10 of Scotland’s population was on at least one new outpatient, inpatient or day‑case waiting list as of 28 February.

Long waits are not an issue isolated to Scotland and although direct comparisons cannot be made, data for the other three countries show waits over a year still exist.

NHS England, external figures show 136,000 patients were waiting over a year at the end of January, while in Northern Ireland, external more than 33,000 patients were waiting longer than a year, as of December 2025.

In Wales, external, 115,700 pathways were waiting over one year.

Another avenue of hospital healthcare is key diagnostic tests.

These include four endoscopy tests (including colonoscopies) and four radiology tests (such as CT and MRI scans).

PHS advises against, external comparing the waiting times for these diagnostic tests in Scotland with the other four nations due to inconsistencies in definitions.