The Scottish Government has hailed progress in the number of operations carried out by the NHS, as figures show an increase from a year ago.
The latest monthly figures show there were 20,837 operations planned to take place across the NHS in December 2023, up by 2% from December 2022.
Statistics from Public Health Scotland (PHS) also showed a 10.3% increase in planned operations during 2023 compared to 2022.
In the latest month’s data, 9.7% of planned operations were cancelled the day before or on the day the patient was due to be treated. This is lower than the 11.6% recorded in December 2022.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “Despite ongoing pressures on the health system, we have seen continued progress with 18,823 operations performed in December 2023; that’s a 4.2% increase from December 2022.
“In the last year, there was a 10.3% increase in the number of planned operations compared to the previous 12 months demonstrating the continued recovery of Scotland’s NHS following the pandemic.
“We are working closely with health boards across Scotland to maximise capacity and ensure patients who have had operations cancelled are seen as quickly as possible.”
Government highlights progress in increasing number of NHS operations