THOUSANDS of hours of surgery time are being wasted as waiting lists soar due to dysfunction in NHS Scotland, Labour has warned.

Data released to the party under freedom of information shows the Golden Jubilee University Hospital in Clydebank lost 7,508 hours of theatre sessions in 2023-24, compared with 4,875 in 2019-20.

The hospital, designated NHS National Waiting Times Centre in a bid to slash Scotland’s 700,000-strong lists, nonetheless saw 2,861 theatre sessions “unfilled” in 2023-24 and a further 640 cancelled. 

The trend worsened in 2024-25, with 838 sessions cancelled in the first nine months alone. 

Scottish Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said: “Scots waiting for surgery will find it baffling that there are operating sessions that are simply not filled.

“The SNP must remove this dysfunction at the heart of our NHS so that our surgeons can get on with operating and patients can get on with their lives.”

A Scottish government spokesperson said: “We know that many people are still waiting too long for surgery but we are starting to see the impacts of our investment to clear the longest waits across the country.”