The future of five delayed NHS treatment centres to deal with a backlog of operations will not be known until December. Plans to build national treatment centres (NTCs) in Livingston, Perth, Aberdeen, Ayr and Cumbernauld wereput on hold in February last yeardue to funding problems. The Scottish government previously said it would set out its plans after the UK government's spending review, which took place earlier this month. Now a further review of which NHS building projects to prioritise has been ordered by Scottish ministers, with an update on the surgery centres expected in December. Latest figures show there are 559,742 ongoing waits for new outpatient appointment in Scotland's health service, with waits of more than two yearsat the highest ever level. First Minister John Swinney has pledged to bring down waiting lists and carry outan extra 150,000 appointments and procedures in the coming year. The Scottish government's original plan for dealing with a backlog of operations was a network of treatment centres intended to deliver at least 40,000 additional elective surgeries, diagnostics and other procedures per year by 2026. Four of these centres are up and running, one has been further committed to by Scottish ministers but the remaining five remain unbuilt and haveracked up £34m in costs so far. The Scottish government said it was spending more than £1bn on NHS capital investment this year and has committed to progressing work on one of the unbuilt NTCS, a replacement for the Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion in Edinburgh. A spokesperson added: "As part of our own Scottish Spending Review, we are undertaking a full review of our capital spending to prioritise the available funding towards projects that drive progress against our priorities. "We will provide clarity over which projects and programmes will receive funding in the medium term when we publish our new infrastructure pipeline, alongside the 2026-27 Budget and Scottish Spending Review. "The publication of the new pipeline will put our capital budget back on a sustainable trajectory." The four NTCs up and running are in Clydebank, Kirkcaldy, Inverness and Larbert. They are used by all of Scotland's health boards and have been regarded as a successful addition to the NHS's capacity to deal with growing demand and backlogs. However, the NTC at Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert is only partially open. The facility's operating theatres and MRI scanner are in use butits 30-bed ward has faced a series of delays. Originally due to open in 2022, the inpatient ward was largely finished by 2023 but then a safety review found ventilation and fire safety issues. A technical solution to these issues has still to be approved by local authority planners and NHS Forth Valley said it can't say when the ward will open until this happens.
Future of delayed NHS surgery centres is unclear
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"Uncertainty Surrounds Future of Delayed NHS Treatment Centres in Scotland"
Bbc News
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TruthLens AI Summary
The future of five delayed National Health Service (NHS) treatment centres in Scotland, designed to alleviate a backlog of operations, remains uncertain until at least December. These national treatment centres (NTCs) were proposed in Livingston, Perth, Aberdeen, Ayr, and Cumbernauld but were put on hold in February of the previous year due to funding issues. The Scottish government had previously indicated that plans would be clarified following the UK government's spending review that occurred earlier this month. However, a new review has been initiated by Scottish ministers to determine which NHS projects should be prioritized, with an update on the status of the surgery centres expected by December. Currently, Scotland's health service is facing significant challenges, with over 559,742 patients waiting for new outpatient appointments, and the number of individuals waiting more than two years for treatment has reached unprecedented levels.
First Minister John Swinney has committed to reducing waiting lists, pledging to conduct an additional 150,000 appointments and procedures within the next year. The original strategy by the Scottish government aimed to establish a network of treatment centres that would provide at least 40,000 extra elective surgeries, diagnostics, and other medical procedures annually by 2026. While four of these centres are operational, one more has been confirmed for development, and the remaining five have not yet been built, incurring costs of £34 million to date. The government is investing over £1 billion in NHS capital this year and is moving forward with one of the unbuilt NTCs, which will replace the Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion in Edinburgh. A government spokesperson emphasized that as part of the Scottish Spending Review, a comprehensive evaluation of capital spending is underway to ensure funds are allocated to projects that align with their priorities. The full infrastructure pipeline is expected to be published alongside the 2026-27 Budget, which will provide clarity on forthcoming projects and their funding status. While the existing NTCs in Clydebank, Kirkcaldy, Inverness, and Larbert have been successful in expanding the NHS's capacity, the NTC at Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert is only partially operational due to ongoing delays related to safety reviews of its inpatient ward.
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