THE NHS in Scotland will have to increase its treatment of non-emergency patients by 20 per cent if it is to tackle its waiting list backlog that started before the Covid pandemic.

Research by the University of Edinburgh said Scotland’s NHS waiting list topped 667,000 at the end of December 2023 — and  that without any increase in capacity could increase to nearly one million by December 2026.

It said a 20 per cent increase in capacity would clear the backlog in three years.

Dr Syed Ahmar Shah, from the University of Edinburgh’s Usher Institute, who led the study, said: “The pandemic accelerated the decline of an already strained system.

“Recovery efforts so far have fallen short.”

Scottish Health Secretary Neil Gray said: “We know we are still feeling the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic which had an undeniable impact on our NHS.

“We are making progress but know there is more to do.”