More than 20,000 waiting for cardiology appointment, 'alarming' figures show
The Tories said the statistics must be a ‘wake-up call’
More than 20,000 patients in Scotland are waiting for a cardiology appointment, according to "alarming" new figures, including thousands who have been waiting longer than the 12-week target.
The Scottish Conservatives said the statistics must be a "wake-up call" for SNP ministers.
But John Swinney insisted the Scottish Government is “making the headway that’s required” on NHS waiting times, despite having to clear 78,000 year-long waits by March to hit a key pledge.
The First Minister previously said year-long waits for treatment will be wiped out by this spring, but the pace of clearing the backlog makes it difficult for the promise to be met.
The most recent figures showed 78,587 open waits of more than 52 weeks on October 31, with the latest statistics due to be released in early January.
The number of year-long waits had come down in the most recent release, with outpatient waits falling from 56,189 to 51,319, and inpatient or day case treatment down to 27,268.
Figures obtained by the Tories using freedom of information laws showed 20,549 were on a waiting list to see a heart specialist as of September 2025, of which 9,448 had been waiting longer than the SNP’s 12-week target for outpatient appointments.
The statistics also showed more than 26,000 people were waiting for an echocardiogram, or heart scan, of which more than 20,000 had been waiting longer than the six-week target. More than 5,000 people had been waiting longer than a year.
Scottish Tory health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane, a practising GP, said: “These alarming figures must be a wake-up call for SNP ministers.
“Heart disease is Scotland’s biggest killer and every delayed appointment is not just frustrating for patients, it is increasing the possibility of an avoidable death.
“Cardiology is yet another crucial area of the NHS where the Nationalists are abjectly failing to meet their own targets because of years of poor workforce planning and mismanagement.
“It’s time for the SNP to move resources away from bureaucracy and get them to the frontline where they belong.”
Public health minister Jenni Minto said: “We want to ensure everyone with suspected heart disease has timely and equitable access to diagnosis, treatment and care.
“The 2025-26 Scottish Budget allocates almost £220 million to reduce waiting lists and delayed discharge, across the NHS, including cardiology. By March [2026] we expect no one to be waiting longer than a year for a new treatment.
“Recent Public Health Scotland figures show we are turning a corner in our efforts to reduce the backlog caused by the pandemic and our plan is working – long waits fell for the fifth month in a row to October and we are treating patients more quickly.”
The First Minister pointed to the improving picture in the health service.
“Certainly, for outpatients and inpatients, numbers are declining and they’re declining on a sustained basis and have been doing so for five consecutive months,” he said.
“I think we’re making the headway that’s required… we’re improving the performance of the healthcare system and it’s delivering the treatment that people are waiting for.”
Pushed on whether he is confident of clearing the backlog by the March deadline, the First Minister said the government is “putting in the focus and the energy” to make improvements, but when pressed on the scale of the challenge, he added: “Let’s just see where we get to.
“What’s inarguable is the numbers are coming down and that’s because of the focus and the direction that I’ve brought to the National Health Service, and nobody can dispute that.”
With the pledge due to expire in March, it will likely be a key attack line used by opposition parties against the SNP ahead of May’s election if it is missed, but the First Minister played down suggestions he had made a rod for his own back.
“What I’ll say, in whatever circumstances we face, what is undeniable is that the SNP leadership of the health service is making progress and is delivering better outcomes,” he said.
He pointed to Ipsos Mori polling released in December which found 28 per cent of respondents trust the SNP to handle the NHS – up from 24 per cent in the same poll earlier in the year. Trust in Labour on health dropped from 18 per cent to 13 per cent.
Mr Swinney said: “We are in a leading position compared to Labour on health, but the crucial point is the trend. The trend reflects what I’m seeing, that people can see the health service is getting better, it’s getting better because I’ve got a grip of it.”
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