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Waiting for an appointment, a test or treatment

If you have to go on a waiting list for an appointment, a test or treatment, the NHS in Scotland will try to make your wait as short as possible and to let you know how long you are likely to wait.

National targets

The Scottish Government Health Directorates have set targets for the whole of Scotland which set out how quickly you should be able to get certain kinds of appointment, test or treatment. These targets are given here.

What are the waiting time targets for:


Contacting your GP surgery

  • When you contact your GP surgery, you should be able to see or speak to someone for advice within two working days, if this is what you need.
  • You should be able to book an appointment three or more working days in advance.
  • The team at the GP surgery will help you decide who should give you the care you need. This could be a GP, a practice nurse, or another health professional.

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Hospital appointments

  • By the end of March 2009, you should be able to:

  • get a hospital outpatient appointment within 15 weeks from when a GP refers you
  • get inpatient or day-case treatment within 15 weeks from referral
  • be seen within six weeks if you need to have one of the tests below to find the cause of a medical problem or condition:
    • MRI scan
    • CT scan
    • Ultrasound
    • Barium scan
    • Upper endoscopy
    • Cystoscopy
    • Sigmoidoscopy
    • Colonoscopy

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Accident and Emergency department

When you arrive at an Accident and Emergency (A&E) department, you should not wait more than four hours before being admitted to a ward, sent home or transferred to another hospital.

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Cataract surgery

If your GP or optometrist refers you for cataract surgery, you should have it within 18 weeks.

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Hip fracture

If you fracture your hip and are admitted to a specialist orthopaedic unit for surgery, your operation will be carried out within 24 hours, if this is what you need.

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Heart Disease

  • If your GP refers you for treatment through the rapid access chest pain clinic, you will get the treatment within 16 weeks.

  • If a heart specialist refers you for treatment, you will get it within 16 weeks.

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Cancer

  • If your GP refers you urgently to hospital for investigation because they think you may have cancer, and you are then found to have cancer, you should start treatment within two months from your referral.

  • If doctors tell you that you have breast cancer, you should start the treatment within one month.

  • If your GP refers you urgently to hospital for investigation and you are then found to have acute leukaemia, your treatment should start within one month from referral.

  • If your GP refers your child urgently to hospital for investigation and your child is then found to have cancer, treatment should start within one month of referral.

Sometimes, hospital services in your local area might be so busy that they cannot treat you within the national target times. If this happens, you will have the opportunity to go somewhere else in Scotland to get treatment within the target time. If you want to find out about this, speak to a member of NHS staff involved in your care.

The Scottish Government has produced a leaflet for patients entitled Hospital appointments & waiting times explained

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Page last edited: 06 January 2010

What can I expect from the NHS in Scotland?What does the NHS expect from me?