Health Secretary has said that ‘people will
be at the heart of everything she does' after committing to
delivering continued progress in the NHS.
Ms Constance will set out a commitment to investing in,
protecting and renewing Scotland's NHS at Parliament on
Wednesday, following her appointment as Health Secretary last
month.
A detailed plan to improve patient flow – reducing delayed
discharge and the pressure on the Accident and Emergency – will
be published within the first 100 days of Parliament.
There will also be a sharp focus on continuing to lower waiting
times and increase access to community care settings, including
GPs, with several key healthcare targets met over the last year,
including:
- waits of over a year for new outpatient appointments down by
77%, since July 2025, with inpatient / daycase waits of over a
year almost halving
- over 168,000 additional appointments and procedures have been
delivered in 2025-26, when compared to the previous year,
exceeding the 150,000 target
- improved diagnostics with thousands more people diagnosed
faster to allow them to move onto treatment pathways, with the
combined waiting list for eight key diagnostics at the lowest
level since May 2021
- more than 95% of cancer patients receiving treatment within
31 days of the decision to treat – with a median wait of two
days, the joint lowest on record
- improved access to GPs, via investment in 30 planned walk-in
centres, with 6 already open, and £531 million record investment
in primary care to boost recruitment
- and long waits for access to Child and Adolescent Mental
Health Services (CAMHS) at historic lows with the 90% standard
met and maintained a year ahead of schedule.
Ahead of a visit to NHS Golden Jubilee, the UK's largest centre
for hip and knee operations, Ms Constance said:
“I cherish our National Health Service and will do everything in
my power to protect, renew and reform our most precious national
asset.
“We have made significant progress across the
system by reducing long waits, improving access, strengthening
primary care and investing in prevention and innovation.
“It's time to go further by making access to healthcare easier
and at the heart of everything we do will be people – the staff
who deliver care with skill and compassion every day and the
patients and families who depend on our NHS.
“We are not complacent. I know there is more work to do but I am
ready to deliver further progress in our NHS.”
Background
NHS Golden Jubilee was expanded as part of the National Treatment
Centre (NTC) Programme, and recently reported becoming the UK's
largest centre for hip and knee operations, delivering 4,308 in
the period from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025.
In total, NTCs across Scotland delivered over 34,000 surgeries
and procedures between April and December 2025, surpassing the
Scottish Government's annual target – three months early.
Statistics on waiting and treatment times in Scotland's NHS are
published by Public Health Scotland and available here:
