We’re encouraging you to quit and win financially.
The average person who smokes could save around £205 a month if they quit smoking or savings of £2,430 in a year.
Visit http://QuitYourWay.Scot and get free expert support to stop smoking.
New figures show the number of operations carried out in the 12 months to January 2026 increased by 6.1% compared to the same period the year before.
New statistics from Public Health Scotland show a total of 276,118 operations were performed during the last 12 months, while 756 operations were carried out per day; an increase from 713 for year ending January 2025.
This comes on the back of new waiting times statistics which show waits of over a year have decreased for 8 consecutive months – with new outpatient waits of more than 52 weeks more than halving since July 2025 and waits of over a year reducing by almost 30% for inpatient/day-case procedures in the same period.
Health Secretary Neil Gray said: “These new figures show that our plan is delivering for Scotland – I am pleased to see sustained and continued improvement in the number of operations carried out, despite on-going pressures and the adverse weather seen over Winter which has impacted activity.
“I thank all NHS staff for their continued hard work – they are driving this progress and these figures are further evidence that our NHS is turning a corner.
“We are seeing waits of over a year come down month after month and we are delivering thousands more operations, procedures and appointments compared to last year – we are determined to build on this momentum.”
Scotland has met its Programme for Government commitment on specialist children’s mental health waiting times, with new statistics confirming that 90% of children and young people referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) started treatment within 18 weeks of referral by the December 2025 target date.
The Scottish Government has invested significantly in CAMHS over the past decade, with staffing increasing by 53%. The commitment to fund 320 additional CAMHS posts by 2026 has been exceeded, increasing capacity for cases by over 10,000.
CAMHS provides specialist NHS support for children and young people with serious mental health needs. To provide alternatives to this specialist service, over £80 million has been invested in community mental health services, plus £16 million a year for school counselling. From this year, £15 million annually will go to local authorities to maintain community-based support for children and young people who need it.
CAMHS waiting times of over 18 weeks are now at their lowest level since June 2013 and CAMHS targets have been met consistently for over a year.
Mental Wellbeing Minister Tom Arthur said: “Meeting our Programme for Government commitment on the CAMHS waiting times standard by the December 2025 target is a real and meaningful achievement.
“It has been made possible by the hard work and dedication of NHS staff across Scotland who support children, young people and their families through some of the most difficult times of their lives.
“The progress is sustained and it is clear — waiting lists are at historic lows with over 52 week waits dropping by over 30% in the last year and half of all young people referred are being seen within five weeks.
“I am encouraged by the real progress that has been made in recent months to clear backlogs and we will continue to work closely with those NHS Boards where some challenges remain over the next few months as they complete this work.
“Despite progress, there is more to do, and we remain committed to supporting all NHS Boards to sustain and build on this momentum.”
Vaccines continue to be the most effective way to protect people from serious, life-threatening diseases.
Thanks to vaccines, diseases like smallpox, polio, & tetanus, that were once responsible for millions of deaths and disabilities, have been eliminated or drastically reduced.
Ahead of the 20th anniversary of Scotland’s smoke-free legislation coming into force on 26 March 2026, people in Edinburgh who quit smoking at the time are being encouraged by a campaigning health charity to share their stories.
ASH Scotland is urging people who stopped using tobacco to share their experiences about why the ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces helped to motivate their quit smoking attempts and how becoming tobacco-free has benefited their life.
Local residents who have quit smoking more recently are also invited to tell the charity ahead of No Smoking Day on 11 March what influenced them to stop and if they succeeded through personal determination or with the free expert support available from NHS Scotland’s Quit Your Way services.
Sheila Duffy, Chief Executive of ASH Scotland, said: “With two big celebrations coming up in March in the shape of No Smoking Day and then the 20th anniversary of Scotland’s leading smoke-free law, we would love to hear from people in Edinburgh about how living tobacco-free has boosted their health and personal finances.
“We are looking forward to hearing everyone’s success stories which could inspire others to try giving up smoking for the first time or to try again when they discover the methods and support that worked 20 years ago or in more recent years.”
The charity is asking people to share stories up to a maximum of 200 words by emailing: comms@ashscotland.org.uk or via www.ashscotland.org.uk/share-your-story
If you’re looking for new resources for the young people you work with, take a look at our updated school and youth packs.
There is a range of activities to engage young people on the subject of tobacco and nicotine products. You can download here – https://bit.ly/4sWoMmm
It’s important your child gets all the vaccines they are offered at the right time to make sure they’ve got longer-term protection as they grow up.
When it’s time, you’ll receive a letter from the NHS with details of the appointment and what vaccines they’re being offered.
NHS Scotland spent £440m last year on beds for patients who were unable to get out of hospital despite being ready to be discharged, according to a new report by Scotland’s public spending watchdogs.
The report from the Audit Scotland and the Accounts Commission said one in nine hospital beds were occupied because of delayed discharges in the 12 months to April 2025.
It said the Scottish government must set out a plan to tackle the problem.
Delays in discharging patients from hospital affect people’s physical and mental health, and make it harder to admit others to hospital. Delayed discharges are a symptom of wider pressures across health and social care in Scotland.
The joint report by the Auditor General for Scotland and the Accounts Commission warns this has a significant effect, despite impacting only around three per cent of hospital patients. People medically ready to leave spent 720,000 unnecessary days in hospital in 2024/25. Whilst the full financial impact is unknown, the cost to the NHS in hospital days alone is an estimated £440 million a year.
The causes are complex, including rising demand for health and social care services, financial pressures, long-standing recruitment and retention problems across Scotland and for some, not having a Power of Attorney in place.
Reducing delayed discharges is a priority for the Scottish Government and their partners in health and social care, with significant activity underway to tackle this. But a lack of evaluation of initiatives across the country means it is difficult to measure what is having the greatest impact and whether these initiatives represent value for the money and time spent.
Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland, said: “Delayed discharges from hospital have far-reaching impacts on people’s health and well-being. The Scottish Government, health bodies, councils and other partner organisations agree on the need for major changes and are actively trying to reduce delayed discharges.
“Now they must improve how they collect, analyse and use data to evaluate the initiatives underway to tackle the problem. Without this, it’s impossible to understand the impacts and costs of delayed discharges and whether the initiatives across Scotland are improving lives, services and delivering value for money.”
Malcolm Bell, Member of the Accounts Commission said: “Significant change is critical across our health and social care services, shifting towards preventative care, greater use of technology and ongoing investment in the workforce. Without this, the care and support individuals need to leave hospital won’t always be available.
“The Scottish Government and COSLA’s joint health and social care service renewal framework is an opportunity for progress to be made with health and social care reform. But IJBs and social care need to be at the centre of planning and decision-making on service renewal, and it’s not clear how the framework will address the challenges faced by social care.”
In response to the joint report into delayed discharges by the Auditor General for Scotland and Accounts Commission, Dr Fiona Hunter, RCEM Vice President for Scotland, said: “This report lays bare the scale of delayed discharge, and the impact it has on our health and social care system and the people it serves.
“720,000 days’ worth of unnecessary hospital stays in the 2024/25 financial year. That’s almost 2,000 years – an almost inconceivable amount of wasted resources which, if exit block had been addressed, could be used to help the patients lining the corridors of Emergency Departments day in, day out.
“The knock-on effect delayed discharge has on EDs cannot be overstated.
“Every hospital bed occupied by someone who does not need it, but cannot leave through no fault of their own, adds pressure to EDs which are receiving more patients than they can move on.
“And these unnecessary stays in a hospital bed puts patients at greater risk of hospital-born infection, and can lead to deconditioning, stripping them of their independence.
“This is something RCEM has been raising the alarm about for years now, and while the government has acknowledged the issue and taken some steps to address it – the total breakdown in hospital flow outlined in this report shows that the current approach has failed.
“Things cannot go on like this and I hope the government, health service and local authorities heed the recommendations set out by the Auditor General for Scotland.
“Improvements to data gathering and discharge planning, among the other recommendations, would be a step towards the system-wide approach we have long said is needed to fix Emergency Care.”
RCEM said earlier this week that The Scottish government must prioritise tackling delayed discharges and overcrowding in Emergency Departments (EDs) or risk the entire system collapsing under the strain of an incredibly difficult winter.
Th message from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), followed the release of ED performance figures on Tuesday (6 January) by Public Health Scotland (PHS) for November 2025.
One in 15 patients (8,065) waited 12 or more hours in a type-1 ED before being admitted, transferred or discharged in that month alone, the worst figures for a November since records began in 2007.
Further, the new data found that:
Dr Fiona Hunter, RCEM Vice President for Scotland, said: “This is yet another month of predictable broken records for Emergency Medicine performance in Scotland.
“The Scottish government continues to shout about improvements to NHS waiting lists. We, of course, welcome these but a lack of political will to put the same emphasis on addressing delayed discharges means our departments are at risk of total derailment.
“We are now in the depths of winter. Patients are arriving into EDs only to find that there isn’t the space to treat them safely, let alone quickly.
“Very sick and injured people are lining corridors, crammed into whatever space we can find, because of exit block and a complete breakdown in flow out of hospitals.
“With warnings of storms, snow and freezing temperatures, the situation is likely to get a lot worse before it gets better.
“It’s unacceptable that this has been allowed to happen, but it’s not too late to act. We call on the government to support health boards so they can make the improvements needed to tackle delayed discharges and improve patient flow.”
Health and social care services across Scotland are undergoing vital renewal and reform to ensure they remain high quality and person centred.
To support this, Scottish Government has commissioned Healthcare Improvement Scotland to develop the Scottish Approach to Change. The Scottish Approach to Change provides a clear pathway to support everyone to do change well.
On Friday 21 November, we hosted the launch of the Scottish Approach to Change in Edinburgh.
We had almost 100 people joining us in-person and online. We brought together senior leaders from across health and social care to explore how the Scottish Approach to Change can help drive meaningful change.
Caroline Lamb (Chief Executive of NHS Scotland and Director-General Health and Social Care) (above), Dr John Harden (National Clinical Lead for Quality and Safety), and Joanna Macdonald (National Chief Social Work Adviser and Chief Executive of the National Social Work Agency, Scottish Government) highlighted the strategic importance of the approach in supporting health and social care renewal.
Leaders from North Lanarkshire HSCP, Dumfries and Galloway NHS board and HSCP, and NHS Forth Valley showcased real life examples of how the approach is already helping them to deliver transformational change.
The Scottish Approach to Change is supported by a digital resource which was launched in September. It’s available to any health and social care organisation looking to implement change and improve their services.
It brings together a wide range of tools and methods to help people plan and deliver person centred change.
BE THE EARLY BIRD CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED
BBC Scotland Reporter, David Cowan, has opened up on his experience with mouth cancer after finding a lump in his neck led to his diagnosis and successful treatment.
After looking up his symptoms on the NHS website, the Edinburgh journalist booked a GP appointment, in a decision that meant his mouth cancer was detected early, giving him a 90% chance of successful treatment.
David says the treatment was tough, but by June 2018 he was given the all-clear. Seven years on, he’s living well, enjoying life with his family and their dog, and supporting Mouth Cancer Action Month to raise awareness as part of Scottish Government’s ‘Be The Early Bird’ campaign:
‘BE THE EARLY BIRD’ CASE STUDY – DAVID COWAN
David Cowan, 58, Edinburgh – “It’s far better to know whether you’ve got cancer or not, you need to not delay and get it checked out.”
In late 2017, TV reporter David Cowan, from Edinburgh, noticed a small, hard, painless lump in his neck just weeks after his 50th birthday. After checking the NHS website, he booked a GP appointment, a decision he now credits with saving his life.
“My awareness of mouth cancer was pretty much very, very superficial. I knew it existed. I knew the dentists checked when they examined you, to see if there were any warning signs there, but it never occurred to me that it would happen to me.
“I was also blissfully unaware that the human papillomavirus (HPV) is linked to mouth cancer in a significant number of cases. I knew very little about it and had no real understanding of the risks it can pose.
“A few weeks after my 50th birthday, I noticed a lump in my neck, it was about the size of a wine gum. It was hard, just underneath my jaw line, and it wasn’t sore, and it just appeared.
“I thought that’s strange. I didn’t do anything about it for a few days. I thought it would go away, then I decided to look up my symptoms on the NHS website, and the advice came up very clearly that if you’ve got a painless, hard lump in your neck that doesn’t go away, you should contact your GP practice.
“They immediately referred me to specialists. My GP later told me she thought straight away that it could be cancer.
“I was sent to a NHS Lothian clinic in Edinburgh for tests and about a month later, another doctor felt the lump on my neck and said, ‘that’s cancer.’
“Because it had been found early, I was told there was a 90% chance of the treatment being successful.
“The treatment process was hard, I lost two stones and was off work for five months, but of course it was worth it, because I’m still here.
“It’s not pleasant treatment if you have mouth cancer, and my consultant had warned me about that from the start.
“They explained what was going to happen, and I remember, during treatment, thinking, ‘they did warn me this would happen.’
“I had no real hesitation in getting my symptom checked out because the NHS website told me to do that, and I’m very glad I did. Thinking that you might have cancer is scary, but it’s far better to know than just sitting there in the dark and delaying getting symptoms checked out.”
“I felt like I was in the expert embrace of the NHS; my experience was extremely positive throughout the whole thing. People talk about fighting cancer, I felt the NHS fought my cancer for me, and I just went along for the ride.”
“I also had fantastic support from family, friends and work colleagues. They helped me approach the whole experience in a positive way, which the doctors told me was very important.”
“I got the all-clear in June 2018. It was a massive relief. Lots of great things have happened in the seven years since I had cancer that I might have been deprived of had I not got back to full health with the help of the NHS.”
“I now try to appreciate the smaller things in life more and just remember how fortunate I am to be here.
“Having cancer is a life-changing event, but now I’m living well and enjoying life with my family and our dog.”
David was asked to share his story and the benefits of early detection as part of the Be the Early Bird campaign and to raise awareness amidst Mouth Cancer Action Month in November.
“We do need to raise more awareness of mouth cancer. I was told my mouth cancer was relatively rare, but was becoming more common. I’m delighted to see that young boys, as well as girls, are now getting human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations in school to help prevent this happening to them.
“It doesn’t matter where the cancer is, if you get it detected early, you’ve got a better chance of successful treatment. The crucial thing about cancer is getting treated as early as you possibly can, and that means if people are worried about something, they have to seek help, no matter how scary it might be.
“I feel very lucky to be here. The message of the Be the Early Bird campaign this Mouth Cancer Action Month is, if you’re worried about something, no matter if you have reservations about going, please go and get it checked out.”
Go to getcheckedearly.org to find out more
New figures show long waits have fallen for the fifth month in a row with significant progress reported by health boards across a number of specialties.
Latest data from Public Health Scotland shows, between April 2025 and October 2025, new outpatient waits of over a year reduced by 17.9% and that these waits reduced for five consecutive months. In the same time period, the total over 52 week waiting list size for new inpatient/daycase procedures also reduced by 26.1%.
On a visit to Gartnavel General Hospital in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Health Secretary Neil Gray welcomed the progress, saying: “These 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 are reducing and we are treating patients more quickly.
“We are seeing downward trends across nearly all waiting list indicators and this is testament to the tireless work of our NHS staff – I thank them for their outstanding efforts.
“The First Minister put health at the very heart of this year’s budget and we are seeing the tangible impact of our additional targeted investment of £135.5 million. Outpatient waits over a year are down 17.9% and inpatient/daycase waits over a year have reduced by 26.1% – this is the first time we have seen this level of sustained improvement since the pandemic.
“Thousands more appointments, operations and procedures are being delivered this year and we are determined to continue to build on this momentum, ensuring people receive the treatment they need as soon as possible.
“I was pleased to meet the Gartnavel ophthalmology team and hear about their progress – since April 2025 new outpatient waits for ophthalmology are down by 72.6% across NHS GGC and we have a 53% decrease in new inpatient/daycase waits for orthopaedics – reducing the over 52 week waiting list in Scotland by 6.3%.”
Between April 2025 and October 2025 health boards reporting significant reductions in new outpatient waits, including:
• a 72.2% decrease in Ear, Nose & Throat waits at NHS Ayshire & Arran
• a 74.1% reduction in Gynaecology waits and a 60.6% drop in Orthopaedic waits at NHS GGC
• a 23.9% decrease in Ophthalmology waits at NHS Lothian
• a 80.6% reduction in Neurology waits at NHS Highland.
Between April 2025 and October 2025, health boards reported reductions in inpatient/daycase waits, including:
• a 52.98% reduction in Orthopaedic waits and a 54.66% drop in General Surgery waits at NHS GGC
• a 60.86% decrease in General Surgery waits at NHS Lothian
• a 29.59% reduction in Urology waits at NHS Tayside.
The new statistics also show increased levels of patients being seen and treated in shorter periods. In October 2025, 58.3% (14,235) of inpatient/daycases were seen within 12 weeks – up compared to 55.5% in March 2025. For new outpatients waits, 61.9% (72,698) were completed in 12 weeks or less compared to 60.8% in March 2025.
For ongoing waits – at the end of October 2025, 42.8% (234,414) of new outpatient waits had been waiting less than 12 weeks, an increase from 41.4% at the end of March 25. For inpatient/daycase waits, 36.9% (57,468) had been waiting less than 12 weeks, an increase from 34.6 % in March.
