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Thousands of hours of surgery time wasted despite soaring waiting lists, Scottish Labour says
A patient bed on an NHS hospital ward in England

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. 

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