MORE than 10,000 sick kids now await treatment in the Scottish NHS as waiting lists have more than doubled over the last 11 years, experts said today.

Looking at data between October 2012 and September 2023, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) found that paediatric waits – excluding surgical, ear nose and throat, cardiology and mental health – rocketed by 114.6 per cent.

Children waiting more than 12 weeks for treatment rose from just 1 per cent to 48.9 per cent.

Calling for a recruitment drive and better staff support, RCPH Scotland’s Dr Mairi Stark said the figures not only signified a “clear failure,” but were “just the very tip of the iceberg.

“We need to give the child health workforce the support it needs to care for the children and young people of Scotland,” he said.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: “In every area of responsibility for this SNP government children are being failed, with catastrophic consequences.”

A Scottish government spokesperson said: “We are committed to driving down waiting times for children and young people and have increased investment in front-line NHS boards by more than half a billion pounds.”