Reacting to the announcement that NHS Scotland has hit a five-year high for operations, Professor Rowan Parks, President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh said:
“We are delighted to see that the number of patients undergoing surgery in Scotland is now the highest it has been for five years.
The Covid pandemic had a profound effect on our health service, increasing waiting lists and placing immense strain on our NHS workforce.
The data from Public Health Scotland shows that 23,470 operations were carried out in July – a 9% increase compared to last July, and is testament to the hard work of all those delivering surgical care.
However, we appreciate that more needs to be done to get the waiting lists down and relieve the multiple pressures on NHS staff. Almost 640,000 Scots are waiting NHS surgery on NHS waiting lists in Scotland, so the continued need for impactful change and strategic initiatives is evident."